On January 5th of 2022, I received the most devastating news of my life. My best friend, Christopher Baroni, passed away in a tragic car accident on his way home from vacation. Chris was more than a friend to many. He was family to me and many others. Our friendship began back in elementary school but did not fully blossom until high school, where we enlisted in the Mission Viejo marching band.

The marching band strengthened our bond into an unstoppable force as we spent long summer days training, marching, and playing saxophone in preparation for the band's competitive season. The camaraderie we shared with other members of the band was truly something special. I frequently look back on the countless memories the Alto Saxophone section shared over our four years in the program.

After graduating high school, we both went down our paths of getting a college degree. Despite my moving away to Northern California, we still managed to communicate often and hang out during holiday breaks. After graduating college and returning home, our friendship grew even stronger as our friend group met weekly to play Magic the Gathering and catch up. Chris moderated and hosted a discord server that all of his friends and I still use to this day. We would gather together after our workdays and catch up daily, as well as unwind with some video games. Things just don't feel the same anymore without his cheerful voice joining us.

Chris was one of the most kind-hearted people I have met. His passion for music radiated through every aspect of his life. Not only did he play alto sax for several years, but he also played bass and guitar. The "Flat Foot Revolutionaries" was the name of our high school rock band, where Chris was the bass guitar player. We had the most fun playing our first and last show at the Orange County Fair our senior year of high school. I always gave him a hard time for singing one of the songs I wrote because he forgot the words on stage and sang off-key for most of it. Despite all of our mess-ups, that show will have a special place in my heart forever. Chris's love for music carried through his entire life. Not long before he passed, we were making hip-hop beats at my place and writing lyrics. He was very talented and poetic with his words, and I wish I could hear his freestyle brainstorming one last time. His music tastes slowly turned into mine, as most of the music I listened to was shown to me by him. We were supposed to see our favorite rappers together in Los Angeles after his return from vacation, and I am torn that we will never get to share our excitement about their music again.

To honor Chris, some friends, family, and I decided to create a Chris Baroni Memorial Scholarship award for the Mission Viejo Marching Band program. The marching band is what brought Chris and his friends together. We found it would be very appropriate to honor him by granting a few scholarship awards to a few current marching band seniors pursuing a college degree. The Scholarships will be awarded to the best essays written regarding what music and the camaraderie of marching band mean to them. These scholarship awards will be granted during the band's annual awards ceremony. We are aiming high with a ten-thousand-dollar donation goal. If you would like to help us in honoring Chris's name, please leave any donation that you find would be appropriate. I will be working with the Marching Band's fundraising coordinator in organizing the awards and will be one of a few judges who will select the winners.