For this week’s senior spotlight, we are going to get to know one of the top ten students in the 2022-2023 senior class and on the wall of honor; Yhazir Estrado! When asked what it took to get where he is now, nearing the top of his class and top of all his extracurriculars, he responded with “It took dedication, determination, and discipline to get where I am.” he continued with “It’s very difficult to push myself and find motivation, but with the help of my friends, teachers, parents, and God, I was able to accomplish anything I put my mind into.” Yhazir is very well known throughout the building for all the extracurricular activities he takes part in such as band and JROTC. In the band, Yhazir is the drum major of the Gaffney High School Band of Gold and has a very important role and responsibility within the band. A drum major is a person who is the leader of a marching band, he is the highest position a student can hold in the band but that comes with a lot of new things he must learn and do compared to the rest of the band. Yhazir originally started out on an alto-saxophone and later on he learned the tenor saxophone. By his junior year though, he had fully switched over to a new instrument unlike anything he had previously played; the trumpet. He said he had made the switch for the beautiful melodies you can hear in many themes of TV shows and movies as well as for the bits and pieces of harmony he still gets while on trumpet. Although, it’s not as much harmony as he previously had on the tenor saxophone. Though he can play all these amazing things, Yhazir explains “Right now, my main instrument are my two hands and ten fingers.” Yhazir told us when he first considered joining the marching band, he was very uneasy about the choice, however, his genuine love and passion for music helped him make the decision to join and he is still there to this day. He continued with the knowledge he would not change or trade his experiences or memories in band for the world. JROTC also holds a special place in Yhazir’s heart. During the next semester he will be taking his place as the Corps Commander for the JROTC program with hopes and goals to do what he loves whilst making people smile. He said he originally joined JROTC to develop his leadership skills as well as he wanted to help his community and fellow schools. Yhazir also does things in his own free time since he doesn’t have a job other than his school band and work responsibilities such as going outdoors or playing his musical instruments for his own enjoyment.  His favorite series is the “Moon knight” series and his favorite movie is “The Fox and the Hound.” He loves spending time with his friends, and he loves the Summer. His favorite sport he enjoys playing is baseball but his favorite sport to watch is football!