Only two years into high school, Class of 2020 student Alyson Sniffen is making waves in the LHS community–and outside of it. Sniffen participates in mock trail and band, as well as Girl Scouts, and cares a great deal about making a positive impact on the people surrounding her.

“There are so many people working behind the scenes all the time to do good for others, and it’s important to give back, even if it’s through small things,” said Sniffen.

Music is Sniffen’s biggest passion. She has participated in band since seventh grade, although before that she was in the elementary school choir. She plays trumpet in marching band, jazz band, symphonic band, and the symphony orchestra, and played with the freshman band this year. Next school year, Sniffen will be the trumpet section leader for marching band.

“I auditioned to be section leader because I was inspired by Naomi Conaway, the section leader in my freshman year. She was super passionate, and I would really love to emulate that and spread that love of music that she shared with me,” said Sniffen. “I am excited to engage with the new students and help them grow.”

Besides her many in-school music ensembles, Sniffen also participated in the All-County Jazz Ensemble and was a part of two duets during the Frederick County Solo and Ensemble Festival, both of which received a superior rating. A superior is the highest rating a performance can receive at the festival. Sniffen performed one duet with Class of 2019 member Alex Ismael and one duet with Class of 2021 member Mary Schmidt.

“Alyson is such a confident player–if she makes a mistake, she owns it. When I worked with her, we were able to push and challenge each other and I loved seeing our improvement from last year to this year. She’s going to be a great section leader,” said Ismael, who will be one of the two drum majors next year. He also plays the trumpet.

“Music makes [Alyson] happy, and it was a lot of fun to practice with her. She’s a great teacher and I’m very glad to be friends with her as well,” said Schmidt, another fellow trumpet player.

Outside of band, Sniffen loves being on the mock trial team and participating in Girl Scouts.

“Ms. Hendi’s passion inspired me to do mock trial,” said Sniffen. “It’s really fun, and there’s lots of public speaking and problem solving involved, so we get to learn about that. The people are really nice, too.”

As for Girl Scouts, Sniffen participated for two years as a Daisy Scout in kindergarten in first grade. She took a break from it for a while before joining the program again as a Cadet in sixth grade, and later moving up to a Senior. On June 1st, Sniffen participated in the local Girl Scout “bridging” ceremony and become a Girl Scout ambassador, the highest “rank” one can receive.

Sniffen’s hobbies include yoga, cooking, reading, and of course, music. She plays concert ukulele at home. She also loves her two cats, Daphne and Minka, and her younger sister, Isabelle. In the future, Sniffen hopes to major in music and do lots of traveling. She is considering joining the Peace Corps.

“Alyson cares about other people a lot. She feels very strongly about equality and acceptance of all people. Her empathy is one of her best qualities,” said Jessica Zieg, Sniffen’s mother. “She strives to do her best in all the things she takes on.”