The Mount Vernon High School choir department has always been known for the wonderful kids who attend and perform. One, in particular, stands out among all the rest, freshman Isabel Govea. The choir will be in Ames this weekend to rehearse for All-State and perform on Saturday.

Govea had been in choir since her sixth-grade year, greatly encouraged by middle school chorus teacher Kristin Anderson to join OPUS Honor Choir and then 6th-grade choir. “I honestly never really saw a further with choir, but I had joined after she asked,” Govea said. “So I really owe a lot of thanks to her because I probably would not be in choir if it had not been for her.”   

Govea was encouraged to try out for all-state by high school choir director Thad Wilkins. After lots of practice Govea was one of many singers in choir who tried out for All-State. After an audition with a quartet at 11:41, the students sat anxiously till 2:30 when callbacks came. Govea then found out she had been accepted making her the first freshman from Mount Vernon to be welcomed into All-State.

“I was completely shocked but very proud of myself because it’s not common for freshmen to get into All-State, and none have gone for Mount Vernon,” Govea said. “I felt I was more inexperienced than some of the other kids there. But I knew I was going to have a great experience, and have so much fun auditioning.” 

Over her career in choir, Govea has made many wonderful friends. One of her closest, freshmen Clair Jensen, talked about how much Govea has grown in her talent. “Isabel has grown so much over middle school, but last year is really where I saw her put in so much hard work. She sort of hit a transition where she spent hours practicing with her voice. She worked on skills like vibrato, reading music, and practiced her favorite Spanish songs to get really good at singing.” 

Govea  encourages others to be more confident in the activities they enjoy. “She’s always been my favorite singing buddy, and we often sing karaoke songs together and other various talent show songs,” Jensen said. “Isabel is so confident and can sing in front of everybody, and seeing that confidence helps me to grow as a singer myself. She’s helped me grow throughout our friendship in many aspects, but music is definitely a big one.”