Lauren Gayken, a sophomore at Sam Barlow High School, has been recognized for her outstanding talent in band for the fall of 2025-26.

Lauren Gayken has been in the band for 5 years, playing the iconic flute. Lauren has shown great perseverance in her music journey and has now been recognized for her optimistic performance in her district solo as a first alternate. In Gayken’s freshman year, she was placed as a state soloist. Gayken plays a very time-consuming instrument that can take quite some time to learn and play correctly. Always being used as an example is Gayken’s cup of tea. In middle school, Lauren has always been more advanced at her instrument compared to others. It’s no surprise Gayken had been recognized for her skills at the flute; being able to juggle all A’s and being a fantastic musician at the same time, not to mention her after-school activities, sports, plus theater.

Everyone knows Lauren as a funny, kind, caring, intelligent, and friendly person who always stands up for the people around her. When we asked another student who had been in band with Lauren in middle school about her talent and how she performed, they said, “ She is always exceptional and carried the flute part of the band.”  This advocates for her astounding recognition given by Mr. Nicholas. Not to mention how much she’s grown and improved over the years. Another student said, “She was for sure our best flute player”. Showing how positively she impacts the band, she is an excellent student example.

Credit: Lauren Gayken, Sophomore at Sam Barlow High School 2025

 Gayken was asked about what her favorite piece to play was, and she responded with “My favorite piece to play was La La Land last year because it was a lot of fun and I love the movie”. Lauren also states she’d love to pursue music. “ I would love to pursue music in the future in either musical theater, flute, singing, or as a music therapist.” If Gayken keeps up the great perseverance, she’ll be well on her way to hitting her career goals. We asked bandmates if they thought Lauren would be known in the future for Music, and they said, “I think Lauren’s a talented jit and needs to pursue a career in music later on in life.”  All of this points Lauren towards her goals of being a future musician. 

Gayken’s hard work has paid off and started to rub off on other students. A bandmate who’s been along with Lauren in band for years states, “ I would understand if people wanted to work harder to play like her.” With this recent recognition, some people have wanted to work just a little harder to put in as much effort as possible. 

Overall, Lauren Gayken deserves this recognition for all of her hard work, dedication, and talent. With her being in band for 5 years, dedicating herself to the flute. Also, with her hard work despite all of her other school activities and outside of school activities, keeping her schedule quite busy. Lauren still advances and leads as a great example for the Bruin Band.