News
SUMMER 2015
Do What You Like, Like What You Do
PAGE 3
Serena Baik &
Nicole McLendon
Staff Writers
Like many OCSA
seniors, Ashley Santore (IM) intends on
continuing her arts
career into college.
She has committed
to Texas Christian University to pursue viola
performance.
While OCSA gives
graduates an edge
in arts fields, pursuing arts as a career
is not always the
easiest choice, and
people have tried
to dissuade her from
becoming a professional violist. They often stress the importance of a back-up
plan and ignore the
fact that Santore is
dedicating her life to
something she loves.
Santore may have
faced dismissive
comments, but as a
result of being required to take “a lot
more music classes
[at OCSA] than [she]
would’ve at public
school,” she is determined to continue
her art in college and
life. She loves to play
her viola and aims to
join a professional orchestra in the future.
This conflict between an arts career and something
more conventional,
between musical
theatre and mathematics, is one many
OCSA students face
at graduation.
Minami Sasaki (IM)
wants to pursue a
career outside of music: physical therapy.
Last year she tore
her anterior cruciate
ligament and ended
up having surgery
on her knee. Due to
the trauma, she was
required to attend
physical therapy sessions.
She said, “At first I
was scared, but my
physical therapist
made [the sessions]
into something I
could look forward
to.” The impact ended up helping her
choose her career;
now she wants “to be
that person for young
athletes as well.”
Sasaki intends to
continue her music casually, saying
“[she’ll] enjoy it more
afterwards because
[she’ll] be doing it as
a hobby.” Her father,
who doubles as her
private piano teacher, fully supports her
decision, sending her
forth to college with
full blessings.
Some seni