Chinese culture is very different than American culture as junior Senlin Luo knows very well.

Being a new student at a new school is hard enough, but for a foreign exchange student, the challenge can be terrifying. Luo, who is from Chongqing, China, and has been using music to ease this transition. He aspires to use music to help people when he grows older and he feels the best way to do that is in America.

“I want to go to an American university after high school to study music. After that, I want to use music to help people who need it,” Luo said.

For anyone to succeed it takes a little bit of hard work. Band Director, Cameron Jerde, has very high praise of Luo’s work ethic. According to Jerde, Luo is always on task and is always trying to get better.

“He’s very respectful and he just wants to play his part absolutely perfectly,” Jerde said. “Diligence would be a great word to describe him”.

As of now, Jerde expects nothing less than perfection out of his foreign friend. He believes Luo to be a great example of what he needs in his band program.

“I have really high expectations for him,” Jerde said. “He’s incredibly talented.”

It would seem Luo has a lot on his plate when talking about music, but he is still going to try to find time for extracurriculars. In China, Luo played sports like table tennis and badminton, while he is in America, he wants to try new sports.

“I never got to play basketball on a team, so I want to try that,” Luo said. “Track and field and baseball I want to try, too.”

Being exposed to something new is not a bad thing. Just ask Senlin Luo.