Forget the radio. While Instrumental Music Sterling Scholar Sadie Swain practices the violin each evening in her home, her family thinks of it as their own classical music concert. Her mother Lisa Swain especially likes to listen to it as she fixes dinner for her family.

Swain’s ascent to virtuosity began before she could even remember. The experience of hearing a violin as a young child created a measure of milestones that she would eventually climb to achieve the instrumental music sterling scholar award.

“We were in church when she was about two and somebody was playing the violin. She just stopped and sat up on the bench and just watched”, Lisa Swain said.

Swain’s mother kept her daughter’s interest in mind and at the age of 5, asked her if she would want to take violin lessons. Swain said yes and was overjoyed when she got her first practice instrument- a cardboard violin. As time went on, she was thrilled to receive an actual violin. The excitement of playing the instrument soon wore off and she didn’t like to practice.

Thoughts of quitting crossed her mind, but what kept her going was when her parents simply said they wouldn’t pay for her lessons anymore. She quickly you would reply with “Wait no! I love this!” and she would start practicing again. Now, as a senior, she enjoys practicing a lot more than she used to.

“I have gotten to the point where I am not just figuring out the notes, but I can make it sound just like a piece of music and put emotion into it”.

She admits it can be challenging, but it always pays off in the end. Playing the violin has also become beneficial for Swain in school. She is good at memorizing things which she credits all the hours spent on reading music. This has helped her excel in many different courses, but most importantly mathematics, her favorite subject.

Despite being naturally self-motivated, violin has also helped her improve the crucial skill. She has shown this through her continuous 4.0 GPA, lettering in music, and getting the highest score on the AP Spanish test.

So far, Swain has applied to the University of Utah and Brigham Young University and will eventually audition for the University of Utah and Utah State University. She plans to major in music but she is also interested at looking into something related to statistics. Outside of violin and academics, Swain loves reading, hanging out with friends and family, being outside and watching her favorite shows such as Stranger Things and Harry Potter.

Within the upcoming years, Swain may discover different hobbies or stick with her current interests, but if she keeps using her many skills she has learned from the wooden instrument, she will achieve anything she wants to.