Student Spotlight Archive
Adam Torres: A Musical Experience
In lieu of a well-deserved vacation, ASU music major Adam Torres spent part of his summer undergoing intensive training as a colleague at the prestigious Conductor’s Institute at Bard College in New York.
Regarded by many as the premier training ground for young conductors, the institute is a four-week course for music students from around the world. Participants undergo technique and musicianship training through lectures, score studies and rehearsals with symphony and chamber orchestras.
“The Conductor's Institute was a great experience for me,” Torres said. “Working with conductors from all over the U.S. and with international students has given me a greater understanding of the orchestral scene on a global scale. There are very few places where young conductors spend so much time together improving their craft. We all learned so much from each other.”
One of the youngest colleagues at the institute, Torres, 22, worked with several internationally renowned conductors, including Maestro Harold Faberman, co-founder of the Conductor's Guild, and with a number of contemporary composers like Tobias Picker and Joan Tower. His musical studies included master works by Beethoven, Mahler, Brahms, Mozart, Bernstein, Ravel, Tchaikovsky and Verdi.
As a result of contacts made at the institute, Torres is preparing to appear as a guest conductor with Ars Musica in Toronto, Canada. He has also been asked to appear with the Oswego Community Youth Orchestra in New York.
“The institute was a great place to study with esteemed conductors with the opportunity to meet talented colleagues and contacts,” Torres said. “The music world is a small one and I'm sure I will run into many of my colleagues in the near future.”
Torres is also an active composer, with works slated to be performed by Ars Musica and the Portland Youth Orchestra. The ASU Ram Band has also programmed several of his arrangements.
Also an active musician, Torres has performed at many public schools, with the San Angelo Symphony and at several local and area churches. He recently accepted the position of organ scholar at First United Methodist Church. A master of the piano, cello and horn (commonly called French horn), he is also involved with almost all of the music ensembles at ASU.
Scheduled to graduate in 2009, Torres plans to pursue a master of music degree in orchestral conducting.
Jennifer Hendryx: Fun with Physics
While many ASU students were taking a well-deserved break from academics this summer, Alpine native Jennifer Hendryx was working on advanced physics projects at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.
A junior physics major, Hendryx was chosen for the exclusive internship program at Los Alamos from a nation-wide field of applicants.
“I knew I wanted to do summer research or an internship, so I searched online for something to pique my interest,” Hendryx said. “I applied to Los Alamos National Laboratory, but what turned out to be key was directly e-mailing the people in charge of the internship informing them of my interest. They had me send my resume straight to them and hired me before the application process was even complete.”
Her research at the lab included plasma physics experiments attempting to find an efficient means to generate fusion energy.
Now that her internship is over, it’s back to the Angelo State classrooms and physics labs. But, that doesn’t mean the fun is over. Hendryx is the incoming secretary of the ASU Society of Physics Students (SPS), which has planned a whole slate of fall activities. She is also a member of the SPS Peer Pressure Team, which travels to area school districts performing dramatic physics demonstrations at student assemblies.
“Honestly, I like playing with the fun toys and eating frozen marshmallows during the Peer Pressure demos,” Hendryx said. “I think my favorite experience, though, was going back to Alpine for demos last year. Roman Rodriguez (also an Alpine grad) and I got the chance to go home and show students that physics and science, in general, are not impossible or untouchable subjects. We are regular people with an interest in the workings of the world around us and it wasn't that long ago that we were in our audiences’ shoes.”
Hendryx credits the ASU Physics Department for expanding her options and putting her on the track to success.
“The professors are so personable and accessible,” Hendryx said. “They are not out to flunk anyone and they want students to learn and grow as scientists. We physics students also rely on one another to get through, so we are a pretty tight-knit group.”
Hendryx is set to graduate from ASU in May 2009 with plans to then move on to graduate school.
Adree Lakey: She Had a Hammer
This summer Adree Lakey used a hammer to craft a gold medallion for herself.
On her third throw at the 2007 NCAA Division II National Track and Field National, soft-spoken sophomore Adree Lakey threw the hammer farther than anyone in ASU history and, most importantly, farther than anyone in the 17-person field in Charlotte, N.C., to earn the NCAA national championship gold medallion.
Lakey made a lot of noise that afternoon as she became the eighth female individual national champion in Rambelle history with her toss of 184′4″, shattering the previous school mark, set nearly a decade ago, by almost 20 feet. In addition, she claimed All-American honors in both the shot put and javelin, earning 23 points at the national meet, sparking the Rambelles to a fourth place finish, the best in the 25-year history of the program.
"As soon as I let it go, I knew it was a good throw," Lakey said. "I had been throwing the hammer better at the end of the year in practice and I knew if I could get one off at nationals, I could place pretty high. But I never thought I would win."
A shot put and discus state champion while at Roby High School, Lakey had never thrown the hammer before attending college. In fact, she had never seen the implement before her arrival at ASU.
"I picked it up for the first time the fall of my freshman season," Lakey said. "I just started out doing drills and kept working on it until I got more comfortable. As a freshman, it wasn’t one of my strongest events."
In two years with the Rambelles, Lakey has now collected All-American certificates in each of her four throwing disciplines, also claiming the honor with a sixth-place finish in the discus as a freshman. With two seasons remaining at ASU, Lakey has a chance to become a multiple national champion, a feat never accomplished by a Rambelle.
"I feel that I can pick up where I left off in each of my events at the end of last year," Lakey said. "I hope to defend my title in the hammer and I think I have a good chance to do well at nationals in my other events as a junior. My goal is to be an All-American in all four events this year."
Anthony Sanchez: South American Adventure
While most ASU students were attending 2007 spring classes in familiar campus surroundings, senior Anthony Sanchez was half a world away gaining valuable experience at the U.S. Embassy in Lima, Peru.
As an intern with the Foreign Commercial Service (FCS), Sanchez assisted with trade development and promotion activities, including international partner searches and trade missions, shows and events. He also conducted market research and addressed inquiries from U.S. companies on doing business in Peru and from Peruvian companies seeking American products and services.
"Meeting such an impressive and diverse group of people enhanced my understanding of the professional world," Sanchez said. "It was from this same group that I developed both working and personal relationships that made my stay at the embassy highly worthwhile."
An international business/accounting major, Sanchez learned of the internship opportunity at a seminar organized by Dr. Sharynn Tomlin, ASU director of international education. But, it was a pending family trip to Peru to visit relatives that really opened the door of opportunity for him.
"I e-mailed Dr. Tomlin explaining my visit to Lima and my idea for an interview," Sanchez said. "Without hesitation she contacted the FCS office and within 20 minutes I was connected to them through e-mail. Everything began falling into place and just two days after talking to the FCS office in Lima, I had set up an interview."
After acing his interviews, Sanchez was awarded the internship and spent four months working at the embassy alongside college interns from South Carolina, Michigan, Toronto and the University of Chicago School of Law. His key accomplishments included writing three International Market Research Reports that were published in BuyUSA and the 2007 "Peruvian Oil and Gas Report" for The American Oil and Gas Reporter magazine. He also helped remove a trade barrier between a U.S. company and a Peruvian company by utilizing government contacts and embassy personnel.
At ASU, Sanchez is a member of the international business fraternity Delta Sigma Pi and is an instructor for the ASU Salsa Club. He is slated to graduate in December 2007 and plans to spend a month backpacking through Europe before looking for a job.
"The Foreign Service is a sector that has definitely captured my attention after my internship in Lima," Sanchez said. "The overall experience was unforgettable."