Some of you may recall a previous blog entry about one of our cello students, Shaylin. When I first met her, she was in 4th grade, and was already student body president - a sign of things to come, for sure! Shaylin graduated from Woodford last spring, and is now a 7th grader at Cincinnati’s prestigious Walnut Hills High School. She continues her weekly cello lessons, and I look forward to seeing her every week - not only because she’s working hard at being the best cellist she can be, but because she teaches me what inner strength and determination are.

In her lesson last week, I asked Shaylin to make a recording of the piece she was learning. One of the few bright spots of the pandemic is seeing how powerful a tool this is for our students, and we will definitely stick with it. When Shaylin sent her recording, it was clear that she’d made great progress. In her lesson yesterday, I told her how impressive her improvement was, and she said, “It took me 25 times to make that!” If you want to understand why this program exists, it’s so our students can have experiences like that - where they see what persistence and determination will get them.

After a very challenging year, I’ve never been more ready for Thanksgiving, and among the many things I’m grateful for is the chance to be a part of 4-Way and the String Project. Many thanks to my colleagues, who I really miss playing with right now, our supporters, who make it all possible, and most of all, our students. And these days, that feels like an even more valuable lesson than usual!

From all of us - stay safe, keep moving forward, and have a Happy Thanksgiving!