As freshman Alex Fletcher’s playlist hit an angsty, splenetic-sounding song, she grabbed her art supplies and got to work.

“Last night,” Alex said, “I was drawing, and I was listening to angry music, which made me feel angry. So I decided to do a big drawing with charcoal, and it was kind of dark, and that was just what I was feeling. I love listening to a song or some music and then drawing what I feel based on a song.”

Alex has a very intricate relationship with the arts—singing, musical instruments, and drawing are all vital parts of what makes her who she is and what she wants to be in the future. And for Alex, they all have a noteworthy link between them.

The drums, the trumpet, the piano, and her voice are all tools in Alex’s arsenal of musical talent. She can be spotted playing her trumpet in the FHC jazz band, drumming to the beat of “Don’t Stop Me Now” during this years’ FHC’s Got Talent show, or singing in the ensemble of FHC’s spring musical, “Cinderella,” this year.

Alex’s willingness to try new things has truly allowed her to branch out and find what really makes her passionate.

“Last year in eighth grade, I was trying out a bunch of new things, and I decided to do jazz club, and that was really fun,” Alex said. “One day, [my band teacher], Ms. Zilhaver, was like, ‘Hey, we need more trumpets for jazz band, so would you like to do it?’ And I was like, ‘You know what? Sure.’ So, I kind of got roped into it, [but I’m really glad]—jazz band is so fun.”

Most of Alex’s musical talent can be credited to her dad, who helped introduce her to the world of music at a very young age. He played music in their house and experimented with musical instruments himself, and the exposure was enough to spark Alex’s interest in music and make it stick.

“My dad has a drum set in my basement,” Alex said, “and I just drummed along to songs. My dad was learning the drums, so I was like, ‘You know what? Why don’t I learn them too.’ It’s mostly from my dad because he played music ever since I was a baby, and then as I got older, I discovered that I could play music too.”

Having been surrounded by music from a very young age, Alex has a lot of experience in using the freedom of music to express herself and be an inspiration for some of her art pieces.

“I get a lot of inspiration from what I see,” Alex said, “but also a lot from music, so they link together.”

Sometimes, using what she sees can mean pulling inspiration from her peers.

“I also love to bring my sketchbook to class and draw during class,” Alex said. “Sometimes I like to draw the people sitting across from me or my [other] peers. [I’ll show them the finished product] sometimes—mostly my friends, probably not strangers.”

Alex is very grateful that she is able to link all her passions into one idea. With the desire to possibly pursue a career in character design or animation, she uses a franchise very near to her heart as a model and a passion.

“I grew up watching a lot of Disney movies,” Alex said. “[They] obviously have a lot of singing, so I think that is also an inspiration because I love the drawings in Disney and how they put the movies together.”