Palmer High senior awarded $25,000 scholarship from Horatio Alger National Scholarship Program

PALMER — Like many seniors nearing graduation, Kiani Kalander said that she was both excited and nervous to step into the adult world. She was that she was excited more than she was nervous though.

“The natural kind of anxiety of being an adult and going out on my own kind of thing but I’m excited to go to college in the fall and start studying music,” Kalander, a Palmer High senior, said.

Kalander, 17, is going to major in music when she goes to college. She has narrowed down her college choices. Among the schools she is considering is Brigham Young University- Idaho.

She is one of 106 students across the U.S. to receive $25,000 from the Horatio Alger National Scholarship Program. She said that she was thrilled to find out she was awarded the scholarship, as it will aid her greatly.

The Horatio Alger Association awards more than $2.6 million each year through its scholarship program, aiding youth all over the country and Canada as well who, “despite facing adversities, remain committed to achieving educational success,” according to a recent press release. Students residing in households with an average income of $14,692 per year who maintain an average grade point average of 3.75 are eligible to qualify for the scholarship, according to the release.

Kalander is a passionate pianist. She said that whatever path her music career takes her, piano will surely be a core part of it. She said that her goal is to study piano performance along with commercial music. She also wants to play music in orchestras and for theater productions.

Growing up in Palmer, Kalander already plays piano avidly in her community, be it at her weekly church congregation or her recent endeavor with the local rendition of “Newsies” at the Glenn Massey Theater. She said that she played the piano score for the entire production. She also plays with the Mat-Su Community Chorus, rehearsing with them every week.

“It was definitely something that I was interested in as a kid and the more I did it, it just became more of something that I became passionate about. It’s definitely been the thing I feel most comfortable doing, the thing I enjoy the most,” Kalander said.

Kalander said that was the pianist for last year’s community Christmas production of “The Messiah.”

The Mat-Su Regional Medical Center has a baby grand piano in its main lobby. Kalander said that for a couple years, she would spend her Sunday afternoons playing music for a while, “as a general service kind of thing.”

“The more community service I’ve done with piano, again the more enjoyable it is and it’s very fulfilling for me to use the musical talent I have to help other people,” Kalander said.

Kalander said that she’s enjoyed finding different facets in the community where people can benefit from her notes. Using her musical abilities to help other people is a direction she is gearing towards for her future career. She said music therapy is one option she is considering.

“It’s just finding ways to do that professionally,” Kalander said.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com