ALTON - The Miles Davis Jazz Committee recognized recent Marquette Catholic High School graduate Paige Masterson for her devotion to music, academics and service.
Masterson considers music to be a strong influence on her. She played flute throughout elementary and middle school before joining Marquette’s Ukulele Club in high school.
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“The most significant thing about music is being able to hear and feel the different parts of a song,” Masterson said.
Masterson was a member of Marquette’s Art Club, women’s bowling team and Academic Challenge team. Outside of school, she plays ice hockey with the St. Louis Lyons Hockey Club and volunteers throughout the Greater St. Louis area.
Masterson joined Marquette’s National Honor Society early in her high school career with a high GPA and over a hundred hours of volunteer work. Timothy Harmon, Marquette’s principal and social sciences teacher, credited this “prestigious distinction” to Masterson’s hard work and attitude.
“In my time knowing Paige, I have come to find that she is a prime example of the quality level of student that not only positively influences the classroom, but that also positively reflects on the students and teachers around her,” Harmon said. “Paige has a unique set of skills that make her successful at Marquette and promise to help her thrive in the future, including…a compassionate personality, and the gift of great community outreach.”
The Miles Davis Jazz Committee awarded Masterson a $500 scholarship. This money will go toward her education at one of the many Missouri colleges to which she has been accepted. Masterson plans to study accounting and business.
When she’s not busy with her studies, extracurriculars or service hours, Masterson can be found with her ukulele in hand. She said her elementary and middle school music teachers taught her patience and determination when learning an instrument, which she has put to use while learning ukulele in the past year.
“They taught me how to have fun while practicing my songs,” Masterson said. She enjoys learning music that she knows from movies or the radio.
Masterson noted that being a musician does come with challenges, specifically encouragement and time management. But she believes that her time as an instrumentalist has increased her appreciation for music.
“My experience from playing an instrument for six years allows me to be able to hear the different sections of a song and how they all come together to produce a wonderful song,” she said.
Between Masterson’s academic, athletic and musical feats, her teachers would probably agree that Masterson’s synopsis of music sounds a lot like Masterson herself.
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