All the hours Faith Kidwell spent practicing the tuba in high school led to this moment: an audition to join . She was confident in her music selection, but on this day, she felt 麻豆精品 S渢errified, 麻豆精品 S� convinced she wouldn 麻豆精品 S檛 be good enough to win over the judges who would determine her future.
One of them she recognized: It was Benjamin Vasko, a visiting assistant professor of tuba and euphonium at the . She had spent the past year taking private lessons from him, driving 60 miles each week from Cocoa Beach, Florida, to Orlando in an old pickup truck with no AC or working windows.
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Adrenaline coursing through her body, her mind giving way to muscle memory, she sat upright, positioned her tuba, drew a deep breath and began playing the first few notes. The rest, she says, is blurred from her memory.
Kidwell, now in her second semester at UCF as a music education major, never would have guessed she 麻豆精品 S檇 end up here. Her relatively stable life today stands in stark contrast to her unstable past.
A Florida native, Kidwell grew up in a single-parent home, often shuffling between different schools and foster homes due to her mother 麻豆精品 S檚 drug addiction. Shortly after she enrolled in Cocoa Beach Junior/Senior High School, her mother was arrested for the second time. That was when Kidwell 麻豆精品 S檚 oldest sister, who had just graduated high school herself, adopted her.
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Despite the chaos and turmoil of her childhood, Kidwell had a reliable escape: her love of music. Where playing tuba in her high school 麻豆精品 S檚 marching band provided a creative outlet and an ingrained sense of structure and discipline, teaching music to younger students made her realize that she could use her passion to make a positive impact.
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Kidwell was sure she 麻豆精品 S檇 have to work a full-time job while at UCF. But with the rigors of the music education program and the extraordinary demands of performing in the marching band, where would she find the time?
One day, after practicing 10 hours during , just before the start of the fall semester, Kidwell received the news that she had won a $25,000 scholarship from the .
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, established on UCF Day of Giving 2024, provides $25,000 for an incoming freshman 麻豆精品 S檚 first year, covering tuition, room and board, and other education-related expenses. Founded by Mark Norato, an entrepreneur and vice president of North American Partners in Anesthesia, the Taking Flight Foundation and Scholarship Fund were inspired by his mother 麻豆精品 S� a single parent who worked two jobs while going back to school to better provide for her family.
Let 麻豆精品 S檚 celebrate all things Black & Gold this 麻豆精品 S� Thursday, April 10. Your support fuels the future for every Knight.
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The scholarship, Kidwell says, has impacted her life in ways she could have never imagined. Aware of the dropout rate for first-year college students, she 麻豆精品 S檚 grateful that she can now focus on her studies, without having to worry about finances.
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Kidwell says she saved the acceptance email of her admission into the UCF music program. The email came shortly after her audition, signed by Vasko, the instructor she studied with leading up to her audition.
It read: 麻豆精品 S淔aith, I 麻豆精品 S檓 so proud of you. That was a great audition and a fantastic representation of where you 麻豆精品 S檙e going. 麻豆精品 S�
She kept the email as a reminder, she says. 麻豆精品 S淚t solidifies that I belong here. 麻豆精品 S�
Be the impact that changes a student 麻豆精品 S檚 life, and join us on Thursday, April 10, for . Every gift empowers Knights like Faith to be a Force for the Future.
