Discovering a major in high school that one will want to pursue throughout college is not always as simple as it may seem. In some cases, being involved in school electives can help one realize they are passionate about something other than English, math, science, or social studies. Students who follow what they are most passionate about can sometimes spark what they want to pursue as a career for the rest of their life.

“There’s more than one way to do things and there’s a lot of different experiences out there,” Nick Juknelis, choir teacher, said.

For some LZ students and graduates, music is an experience they are continuing on now and after college. These musicians were or still are involved in the school choir.

By getting involved the sutdents have become more prepared and educated for a musical career.

Each of their hobbies went from after school activities to what their life revolves around.

Seniors Olivia Weismann and Erin Leahy, as well as 2013 graduates Shannon Flaherty and Jake Gadomski are pursuing music in and after college.

Weismann and Leahy will begin their studies this fall. Weismann will be attending Augustana college, while Leahy will be attending Westmont college.

Flaherty and Gadomski are currently studying music. Gadomski attends Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and Flaherty attends college at Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Taking talents to college

Weismann is going to Augustana College this fall to become a music teacher. Leahy will also be taking her voice and theatrical talents to Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California.

“I plan on studying music education. I always wanted to work with kids, and since high school I’ve been really influenced by [Mr. Juknelis] and our choir program here [at LZHS],” Weismann said. “I have been blessed with excellent role models.”

When Weismann started at Isaac Fox Elementary school, she went from dabbling in music to loving her craft. To grow in her talents, she has challenged herself musically. Through those who helped mentor her, she saw their love and thirst for music excellence, which helped improve her craft and talent into what it is today.

“[They] have not only shared with me their love of music, but have taught me what it takes to teach large groups of students while still maintaining their passion for their craft,” Weismann said. “It’s about being able to spread love for music and to be able to teach it with patience, grace, and skill.”

Since elementary school, Weismann has been surrounded by music. In 4th grade, she joined the Isaac Fox Choir and has continued in school choir ever since. In middle school, she started to perform in shows, and has starred in 15 total. Outside of school, she sings at St. Francis de Sales church.  Using different platforms to share her voice, she has found her love and her passion.

“I like singing because it brings a group together in a unified way, and it’s a great form of expression,” Weismann said.

Due to her talents and academic excellence, Weismann has received a presidential scholarship for music at Augustansa, in which she will receive $22,000 each year for four years while studying.

She not only plans on studying music, but hopes to be a part of the college’s choir program, campus ministry, and take a mission trip during her college experience.

“I am majoring in theatre arts, but hopefully minoring in music,” Leahy said. “I will definitely be involved with choir [along with] vocal lessons throughout college.”

Leahy is grateful for her talents and the people she has worked with to help her grow as a person.

“I truly believe God gave me my talents and before each performance, I pray that I can honor him through what I do on stage,” Leahy said. “My voice teachers have helped me so much [Mr. Juknelis], I would not be as educated in music if it wasn’t for him.”

Through the power of her voice, Leahy aspires to in some way to impact someone else’s life.

“I enjoy singing and affecting people with my voice,” Leahy said.

Leahy has also received a scholarship for her studies at Westmont. She is excited to grow as a performer and a singer.

Graduates major in music

“I decided I wanted to go into music at the beginning of my junior year. I knew I was passionate enough about music and had great role models like Mr. Juknelis and Mrs. Misik (voice teacher), who had taught me so much,” Gadomski said. “I figured if music was my favorite thing, I thought it was the right choice for me to pursue music as a career.”

Gadomski and Flaherty continue to study music at the college level.

“I actually was not thinking about going to school for music until my senior year, and even then I was skeptical. I thought it was very impractical and I didn’t really know if I would amount to much as a musician,” Flaherty said. “In the end I figured, why not audition, because you never know what’s going to come out of it. I never in a million years would’ve expected to get into Berklee. When I got in I was so shocked and honored, I couldn’t refuse. I knew it was the right thing to do.”

     Both alums have learned and accomplished a lot in their first year of college.

     “I learned that I could accomplish anything if I put in the work for it and tried my hardest to accomplish my musical goals,” Gadomski said. “I started taking piano when I was eight, and that taught me all of the basics of music that I applied to my singing later on in my life. In high school, I was involved in concert choir and Bare Voices. When I studied voice in high school, Mrs. Misik taught me classical and musical theater and set up a great foundation that I can use in any type of vocal setting. In college, I continue to study voice and piano and I am majoring in choral music education. I continue to grow at my craft on a weekly basis.”

Gadomski’s desire for music has motivated him to work harder and get himself involved with challenging activities involving music. The expansion of his music education has made him a stronger singer, too, he said.

“There are a lot of similar musical activities that I do in college that I did in high school, but studying music in college is a lot harder and more intense than high school,” Gadomski said. “There are more opportunities to grow as a singer at the university level than there were in high school.”

For both graduates, college has opened up new doors to new experiences beyond the high school level.

     “[In high school], I was focused a lot on non-musical activities, but everything here revolves around music. Every class I take focuses on music in different ways,” Flaherty said. “Berklee is awesome because it is very realistic when it comes to music careers. Some music schools assume everyone will end up as a performer or a teacher, but there are tons of different paths you can take here. High school was fun, but I am so happy to really get to pursue my passion in-depth now.”

Determination is what got both graduates where they are today. For Flaherty, taking others’ negativity as motivation helped her work even harder.

“Music’s difficult to keep up with because there are many people who are willing to knock down your talent,” Flaherty said. “There have been innumerable times I have been told I was awful, but [music] my ultimate passion and I used all of the negative energy to make myself the best musician I could be.”

For both Gadomski and Flaherty, music is not only their career path, but their dream, as well.

Mentoring through music

Nick Juknelis, or better known as “Mr. J” by his choir students, has helped mentor students musically through choir and the performing arts for twelve years. His high school days were similar to his students; filled with anything he could do that involved singing.

Since he started, he has helped countless students allow their talents to flourish throughout their years at LZHS and pursue a positive post-high school plans involving music.

“My number one goal is that I want the students to understand what their potential is. Beyond the singing, I think we have many other life lessons that we’re teaching: working together, attention to detail, long term practicing, and goal setting. Whether my students are going to study music or not, the skills they are learning here apply everywhere,” Juknelis said.

He actively participated in the performing arts starting in junior high. This hobby continued in high school, which turned into a love. From there, he went to Augustana College for his bachelor’s degree.

“In college. I did opera [a] little bit, musicals, [and] a lot of piano playing,” Juknelis said.

He loves how music has specific guidelines on what to do, but he also likes to take his own spin on songs.

“I’m a rule follower, but I also like being an individual. So it’s like the best of both worlds,” Juknelis said.

Juknelis has been thriving with his choir students and will be continuing to teach for as long as he can.