Clara Thomas: Jack of All Trades

It certainly takes a special kind of person to be able to juggle AP and college courses, music performance, track and cross country, and a small business. Such is the life of MHS Senior Clara Thomas.

Thomas was born in California and lived there for seven years until she moved to Rexburg in 2011 and has attended schools in Madison School District ever since. Thomas is currently practicing for her BYU in-person
violin audition at the end of January, running an Instagram business for beaded jewelry, training for the upcoming track season, and trying to do well in school so she’ll be prepared for college. Thomas started playing the violin at nine years old and has attended several prestigious events including All-State, where the best musicians in the state at the high school level come and perform together, and All Northwest, where all the best musicians in a multi-state region at the high school level come and perform together.

“I plan on going to BYU for violin performance if I get in. If I don’t, then I want to go to BYU-I into the music program,” Thomas said.

All Northwest gave her the desire to play in a professional orchestra or quartet, and Thomas figured that going into music performance would help her get to that goal. Thomas is an avid runner and runs on the high school’s cross country and track and field team. Thomas’s first inspiration to start running was when she beat everybody at tag in 6th grade. It then extended to trying a youth track club in 7th grade and finally starting the school program in 8th grade.

“I like seeing my progression…and how it makes me feel afterwards,” Thomas said.

Thomas especially likes the social aspect of running and meeting new people as well as the competition.

“It’s also fun to see how good I can get compared to people from other schools,” Thomas said.

Thomas has explained that running has had its ups and downs in her life. Thomas and her 4x400m relay team won districts and qualified for the state meet last season, where they took 7th place. Thomas also placed
well in her other events at big meets and the district meet. The downs however had its place in the season.

“I had a hard time accepting that I ‘deserved’ to be there [at state] since I was only going for a relay. Then I realized that it wouldn’t be a reality if I wasn’t on the team,” Thomas said.

Thomas has had the mental challenges of running, such as comparison and nervous breakdowns. Susan Thomas, Thomas’s mother, explained that she has learned a lot because of sports, especially “dedication to work out even when she doesn’t want to.” Thomas’s parents have done the best they could to encourage her, provide her opportunities to help her do her best, and show up to support her in her activities. Overall, Thomas has said that running and other things that Thomas has worked on in life have taught her some very important lessons.

“It’s taught me how to work hard for something, even if it’s far down in the future…I also have learned that having specific goals and being consistent with your work, even in the
little things helps me reach my goals,” Thomas said.