Beginning at the age of seven, senior Diana Unruh expressed a love for music by teaching herself to play piano and later being taught to read music with the help of her older sister. By the age of ten, Unruh started playing the cello and getting involved in several different music related extracurricular activities.

Throughout the years, Unruh has participated in classes such as choir and orchestra to express her love for music. Her hard work and dedication has not gone unnoticed by teachers.

“She practices a lot, works really hard, does a great job leading, and has always sought to do extra orchestra things,” middle school orchestra teacher and assistant high school orchestra teacher Joseph Menninga said.

Outside of school, Unruh has played cello for various orchestras and events including the Bethel College Chamber Orchestra, the Wichita Symphony Youth Orchestra, the Newton-Mid Kansas Symphony Orchestra and in an assortment of ensembles for weddings and parties.

“I like it [playing in the Bethel College Chamber Orchestra] because it is made up of professionals and college students and there are a lot of opportunities to learn and gain experience from them,” Unruh said.

Unruh said that past teachers and a passion for helping others provide her with inspiration. She is looking to pursue a career in music.

“I work in a nursing home with people who are deteriorating mentally and physically and so they have a lot of challenges. My job is mainly to create activities to help captivate any parts of their memory and to utilize what they still can do. Through that, I’ve kind of discovered ‘Hey, I really like teaching,’ ” Unruh said.

Unruh said she believes that music has impacted her character as well as her respect for those who share a love for music.

“I think it has made me a more disciplined person. It has helped me to be able to express myself and all of the thoughts inside of my head,” Unruh said. “I think it has made me appreciate other cultures a lot more and a lot of the hard work that people put into making music.”

Although, music has positively impacted Unruh, it has not come without difficulties.

“Not giving up can be difficult because it is not an easy thing to do, especially since it requires a lot of self-discipline, self-initiation and motivation to continue to do things like this,” Unruh said. “That is probably one of the most difficult things, to just to keep going when it is difficult.”