Luke Witting '23 Recruiting Profile

For years, my school password has incorporated the phrase “sing AND swim”. As an elementary school student, I spent the majority of my time doing these activities. As I progressed, people told me that I’d have to choose one or the other eventually.  Our polarized world that seems to have lost its sense of balance, reinforced the idea that I couldn’t gain skills that would help me become accomplished in multiple endeavors. My middle and high school years at the Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA) changed all that.  

OCSA provided a wide range of opportunities for their students and I was eager to immerse myself in as many as possible. I auditioned and was accepted into Montage, a school performance group composed primarily of upperclassmen, that performs at multiple school functions throughout the school year.  I also auditioned for the new conservatory musical The Boyfriend and was cast as part of the ensemble. Soon I began to struggle with balancing rehearsals for Montage and The Boyfriend. I had swim practice every weekday evening, leaving little time to study and prepare my vocal pieces and keep up with an increasing load of academic homework. As the weeks started to pass, the stress began to build as I tried to work through a schedule of back-to-back rehearsals.  I started emailing my music directors repeatedly to say, “I can’t make it to this rehearsal until this time because…”.  After a few challenging weeks, I found myself half asleep at Montage rehearsals and yawning behind my sheet music. I was missing the majority of The Boyfriend rehearsals and struggling at swim practice. Even my directors and coaches started to notice. One night I received an email from the directors stating that I should discontinue Montage for the year.  My heart sank and sped up at the same time. I was confused, surprised, and sad. I met with the directors who told me that Montage had fallen to the bottom of my priority list, buried under academic work, conservatory rehearsals and sports. They decided it was best for me to leave Montage so that I could have a better balance of activities. 

I reread the email for weeks and cried myself to sleep many nights because I could not get over the disappointment of being let go. As time went on, I started to use the skills I learned from that experience and applied them to creating a realistic and prioritized schedule for myself so that I could keep being an “AND” rather than an “OR” kind-of-person. I started keeping a calendar check-list for completing my academic assignments and took an academic lab so I could complete work during the school day. Outside of school, I prioritized swimming for certain days of the week and musical performance endeavors for other days so there was very little overlap.  I communicated to my directors and coaches ahead of time when I foresaw any potential for conflicts. With my improved organizational skills, I began performing in a band as the keyboard player and vocalist. I learned over 60 songs and entertained small and large audiences at over 100 gigs.  I did this while managing my academics, staying involved in school performances and swimming. Today I am confident in my abilities to excel in my AP Environmental Science class, surpass new time standards in club swimming, and, most of all, be a Montage vocalist during my senior year and sing my heart out! I love to sing AND swim. I am an artist AND athlete, a student AND sound scorer, a pianist AND player, a music man AND a muscle man. That is who I am. Does this make me indecisive and unfocused?  No. With the proper planning and organization it makes me honest, communicative, collaborative, and a diversified member of my community.