Graduating high school and moving on to the next chapter of life all seemed so far away, but as graduation creeps up in the next few months, senior Lindsay Dean feels nervous graduating after attending the same school district since preschool.

Dean had been involved in the marching band since freshman year along with being in jazz and symphonic band. Dean quickly fell in the love with the welcoming environment of the band program, saying, “When I first joined the band program as a freshman, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Quickly band became my favorite thing to partake in and I improved so much over the past few years. Being taught by the directors who pushed me to be my very best helped me realize I want to be able to do that for younger band kids in the future as well, and that’s why I decided to go into music education.”  

Dean was accepted to both The University of Akron and Kent State University, and chose to attend Akron for further education in this love for music. Akron has a great music program and Dean also loves the horn professor that teaches there. Dean hopes to earn a bachelor’s degree in music education and then teach as a high school band director while continuing to earn a master’s degree.

Dean was a freshman when the Covid-19 lockdown went into full effect and endured all the restrictions until Lakeview was able to return this past summer with no masks and finally allowing students to enter back into a familiar and more comfortable environment. Dean would like to re-do sophomore year because of Covid forcing students to be half online and half in person which was especially disruptive to the music programs.

Reflecting over the last four years of high school Dean says, “I wish my freshman self was more outgoing and I didn’t wait so long to put myself out there and meet upperclassmen.”

Senior year really allowed Dean to come full circle, “I feel as if through the four years my appearance has changed drastically from freshman year. I now have short hair and and have a more versatile style compared to freshman year where I had long hair and glasses.”

Dean offers this piece of advice to underclassmen, “Don’t be afraid to try new things. High school offers so much more than the middle school does. Clubs, classes, dances, new experiences, everything. Do what your heart is telling you to do. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. It’ll be scary at first, but you’ll regret every chance you don’t take.”

Dean is going to miss symphonic band, especially close friends McKenzie McFall, Caden Guesman, Chelsea Walker, Ashley Graczyk, and Ethan Baker, who all have really made high school special along with high school band director Nathan Sensabaugh. 

One moment Dean really enjoyed while at Lakeview was experiencing senior band night and realizing how fast school actually goes by. Dean recalled senior night, “I walked down the 50 yard line in my band uniform with my parents as my name was being called across the stadium. Walking down there and then walking back to my squad made up of freshmen and sophomores made me realize just how quickly high school flies by, especially when you’re doing what you love.”

We wish Lindsay the best of luck for the future!