MACHIAS, Maine — Bridgette Koch, a 16-year-old who attends Machias Memorial High School, is a gifted student, a good community member and a loving daughter and sister.
But what is getting her special recognition is that she also is an amazing musician.
“If you put music in front of me, my fingers tingle,” Koch said.
Koch recently was chosen as one of 40 students nationwide to participate in a summer of college-level courses at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pa., and her community is stepping up to help pay her $6,200 tuition.
Koch plays the tenor saxophone so well that her school guidance counselor, Cara Crillo, suggested she apply for the scholarship program.
“It was a huge application. I had to write an essay and send in a recording of myself playing,” she said.
But then there was a glitch.
Her mother, Barbara Koch, explained that the program fully funds juniors entering their senior year of high school, but Bridgette is a sophomore entering her junior year.
“We are not a family that like to accept gifts,” Barbara Koch said.
But the $6,200 tuition would have been daunting for many families.
So Koch’s church, where she serves as a youth delegate, is holding a fundraiser for her. A pound auction will take place at 11:30 a.m. Sunday, June 7.
This is how it works: Donors bring items that weigh roughly a pound each, wrapped up to hide their identities. Participants then bid — sight unseen — on what they believe is in each package.
“We did this once before and someone paid $32 for a pound of bananas,” Koch said. “It is so much fun. Last year, we got a pound of handmade washcloths. They were wonderful!”
Anyone may participate in the auction or mail donations to the church to support Koch’s tuition.
“Music has always been a really big passion for me,” Koch said. “It is a positive way to express myself.”
She said she really loves jazz but her school band is so tiny — just 13 musicians — that she gets to play performance pieces only at jazz festivals.
Meanwhile, she works one-on-one with her high school music teacher to hone her skills. But, she said, she remains realistic.
“It may be my passion, but music can only take you so far,” she said. “I’m considering going into the field of music therapy.”
Donations to Koch’s tuition may be mailed to Centre Street Congregational Church, Centre Street, Machias 04654.
487-3187