Hometown and High School: West Linn, Ore.; West Linn High SchoolApplied To: BYU
Major Plans: Wavering between chemistry and music
Interests and Achievements: Thomas S. Monson Scholar; performed in every high school choir she could; competed on the high school mock trial team, which took third place in the state competition; went to state in the musical category of an acting competition; traveled to New York with the symphonic choir; writes music; plays the piano; can play two chords on the guitar.
The Calming Effect: A pianist and singer since second grade, Elise Biancardi ('12) loves music. But much of what she loves about it is its balancing effect on her personality. "I'm a little too analytical sometimes," she says, "and so it's good to have music--music for me is emotional and calming." She recently began writing words and putting them to music. "Even if I just write a verse and a half that I'm never going to finish, it's just a great way to get my thoughts out of my head." Though as a composer she writes what she calls reverent Mormon pop, when she plays music to respond to emotions, she opts for more traditional works. "When I'm upset or stressed I usually play Sibelius or Chopin, and I have this new Rachmaninoff that's really cool. And then if I'm angry I play this Mozart that's just like bangy and loud."
What to Study? On her high school mock trial team, Elise was both a prosecutor and a defender, competing against other schools in the Oregon state courthouse (sometimes as prosecutor, sometimes as defender). Her specialty was opening statements, and she helped her team claim third place. The experience gave Elise an interest in a possible future legal career. But then, of course, there's music. She loves singing and piano and musical theater and has thought about auditioning for Young Ambassadors at BYU. She also liked studying philosophy in high school, and as a senior she took AP physics and enjoyed being able to explain the world around her. "I would watch something rolling and I would think of the equations that we had used," she says, or she would find herself thinking, "I know why this is sticky and why this is doing that and why this one rolls and this one doesn't or why these things are falling." On her freshman schedule is chemistry 105, and she likes the idea of working in a lab. "I like figuring out how things work--which I guess is maybe more of a mechanical engineering thing." Sigh. With so many interests, it's tough to select a major.
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If you're interested in law of some kind, I would highly suggest (as an alumn) to take advantage of the incredible philosophy program we have at BYU. Take some logic and whatever other classes might interest you to further sharpen those analytic skills. But, word to the wise, try not to fall in love with philosophy because, as I can easily attest to, it doesn't help in getting work (though it is incredibly useful for increasing self-understanding, if you approach it the right way). good luck!v :o)
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