When you're doing something that no one has done before, you learn by doing

Nick was born into a family of 3, which turned into a family of 4 a little over a year after his birth. Nick grew up in a small town outside the capital of New York of which he resided in his whole childhood. Growing up, Nick faced numerous challenges and difficulties which has affected how he developed to become an adult. Due to many challenges at home, Nick had to mature at a faster rate than any other child. Due to this, Nick does lack some of the personal connections that many of his peers have at his age. Nonetheless, he pressed on, pressuring himself to do well in and out of school. Nick eventually saw school as his escape from his problems at home, including a messy divorce between his parents. To keep him busy and mind off of those problems, Nick loaned himself out as much as possible for the school and for his friends which in the end helped him develop a closer connection to the friends he has today. 

When Nick joined his schools music program, he didn't know what to think of school or his life at the moment. There were too many things going on for him to count and consider, with lots of pressure to do well on him by both of his parents. Nicks father only saw him as an extension of himself and nothing less, and ensured that his image was positive through Nick's actions. However, joining the music program would eventually save Nick from dealing with his troubles at school, and would benefit him in the long run. Nick chose to play the French horn in band, one for the instrument sounding beautiful, but mostly because it looked cool. Everyday forward for Nick, he looks forward to his band class because it's a way for him to express himself in another form different from his actual voice. At the end of his 8th grade year, Nick would audition for his districts highest level performing ensemble, his districts wind ensemble, and would be admitted as second horn. 

High school was a whole other experience for Nick, especially since COVID was around and the school's weekly schedule was very different than normal. Nick, as would everyone else with the last name A-L, would only physically attend school on Mondays and Thursdays. The rest of the days would be spent home working on various assignments with Wednesday reserved for conferences between classes. This schedule would negatively affect Nick's effort in his freshman year English and biology courses, which in the end would weigh his GPA down (not by much, but enough to not meet his standard). But when the following year the normal schedules returned, Nick's grades in those fields improved and continues to thrive today. 

In wind ensemble, Nick grew and evolved in the music world, continuing to play an audition for the annual NYSSMA Zone 7 solo festival, of which he constantly earned high marks for. Nick's junior year, he decided to perform the highest level solo possible, the all state level. He worked hard for 4 months with constant struggle and doubt that he would be prepared enough to perform. He performed his audition for the adjudicator, and awarded him an almost perfect score, a 99 out of 100. Nick would be the only one in his district to score that high. Later a few days before the beginning of  his senior year, Nick would be informed that he was selected to perform in the NYSSMA All State festival in Rochester NY as the 4th horn for the symphonic band. Nick was ecstatic when he got the news, and eventually received lots of praise from his friends, other students, teachers, and other members of his community. He would be the only student from his district selected to attend the festival.

During this time, Nick thrived in his school environment. He works hard to make sure everything he does is correct and as perfect as possible. Nick is just shy of the top 10% of his class, all of which is currently calculated by the thousandths place for his class due to the competitiveness of being at the top. 

Today, Nick continues to work hard on his school work and to make a positive impact on his community. He still loans himself out to the school and his friends to get away from problems at home and other family drama, but that of which only improves his resume and other factors that can change his chance of admission. Nick is currently attending Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY. Majoring in mechanical engineering with a minor in music, Nick is on a path to leave a legacy that will move us into the future, one note at a time.