The younger brother of a Seattle Prep graduate, Bishop Blanchet was nothing more than an afterthought for freshman Owen Kerins. In fact, if not for his brother choosing to attend Seattle Prep nearly seven years ago, private high schools as a whole might have gone unnoticed by Kerins.

“I got an invitation from Prep to come to their open house in 7th grade, being that it was my brothers older school,” said Kerins. “That was really the only thing that got me to look at private schools when the time came around in 8th grade.”

It’s safe to say that the idea of attending Blanchet would have sounded like a total stretch to Kerins as he entered 8th grade. However, when he got word of our school’s superb performing arts program, specifically our Jazz Band, while looking at high schools in 8th grade, he knew that BBHS was the place for him. For a music enthusiast at heart, a band program like ours was simply too good to pass up.

Although the band program is ultimately what brought Kerins to the school, he has come to find more opportunity here at Blanchet, both within and outside of the program, than he could have ever have imagined.

A love for his craft comes with plenty of work rest assured. Between both independent and whole-band practice, Kerins’ life outside of school is very much dedicated to music.

“Our practice regimen for the band as a whole includes one hour practices before school during all Zero Periods” said Kerins. “My independent practice regimen includes 30 minutes to an hour of practice on my own almost every day, as well as a weekly session with an instructor/teacher that last about an hour.”

As if practicing for himself wasn’t enough, Kerins finds time to put his love for music towards assisting others. Every other day after school, Kerins will return to his former school, Meadowdale Middle School, to help kids learn to play the saxophone.

“It was definately a lot to handle at the beginning of the year,” said Kerins “As the school year progressed I got my time management figured out and would say I’m pretty comfortable with everything now.”

“Growing up I always enjoyed music,” said Kernis. “My mom introduced music to me very early on and it is something consistent that I can remember throughout my early childhood.”

Kerins can vividly remember listening to his mother’s favorite music in his adolescence. When he came to find out that he could listen to and discover music of his own, that made music all the more fascinating to Kerins.

“When I started to find my own music, that really solidified it as something I love,” said Kerins. “When I found out that I could make music, I knew it was something I wanted to do.”

Kerins began playing the alto saxophone in 5th Grade and has enjoyed playing for the past five years. With plenty of experience in playing an instrument prior to attending Blanchet, Kerins opted to join the school’s band program at the beginning of the year.

Any member of the Jazz Band would be hard pressed not to tell you that the program’s trip to the Reno Jazz festival was one of the highlights of the year. An annual trip for the program for the past four years now, performing in Reno has become something that all of the band members look forward to and thoroughly enjoy.

“There were so many neat things I took away from my experience on the trip,” said Kerins. “It really was an awesome weekend. I can’t believe I will be fortunate enough to make that trip three more times.”

Far more than just a musician, Kerins plans to do more than be a part of the band program in his time at Blanchet. A solid athlete and an exceptional lacrosse player, Kerins would like to be a three sport athlete at BBHS.

“I plan to compete in a sport every season for Blanchet,” said Kerins “I’d like to run cross country in the fall, be a part of the swim team in the winter, and obviously play lacrosse in the spring, lacrosse being my primary sport.”

Unfortunately, these aspirations could not begin for Kerins in his Freshman year. Kerins has been recovering from continuous injuries over the course of this year, hindering his ability to participate in any athletic activity. Although it was certainly a difficult way for Kerins to begin his tenure at Blanchet, he remains optimistic by looking to the opportunities of the future.

“Going forward I’d definitely like to see myself get more involved in athletics here at Blanchet,” said Kerins. “I think nearly all of the athletic programs at the school do a great job of encouraging any and everyone to be a part of their teams. I know that I would feel welcome in any sport I sign up for.”

“It’s crazy to think that I almost never even gave Blanchet consideration,”said Kerins. “I always knew I wanted to pursue music in high school and I saw a great opportunity to do so here at Blanchet. The band program has offered me everything and more than I could have asked for, but what I have really loved about Blanchet thus far is all of the other opportunities the school presents to its students to be great.