Lakeland Sophomore Jordin Cysewski Named to All-State, Hawaii Honor Choir

Fifteen-year-old Lakeland High School sophomore Jordin Cysewski of Hauser was selected Jan. 19 to perform in the Idaho Music Educators Association All-State Treble Choir in Nampa and was invited through those auditions to join Honor Choir USA in Hawaii this summer. Cysewski will sing Feb. 4-7 at Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa and then travel June 16-22 to perform with about 150 students nationwide in Hawaii at venues including the USS Missouri at Pearl Harbor and the Polynesian Cultural Center.

"I feel very proud of my work," Jordin of Hauser said. "I originally thought that all these many years I put into music would go to waste, but being able to sing in a treble choir for All-State and being picked to go to Hawaii has given me hope."

Selection to state and national honor choirs is a rare distinction for a sophomore from Kootenai County. The recognition reflects hours of practice at home and school as well as musical versatility: Jordin has no formal vocal training, sometimes takes lessons from her grandmother, taught herself guitar and ukulele, played violin in middle school, reads music, and writes songs. Her development outside a formal private-lesson pipeline highlights how community and family instruction continue to foster talent in rural settings.

The invitation to Honor Choir USA is a point of pride for Hauser and Lakeland schools, but it also underscores systemic barriers. Participation in the Hawaii choir will cost about $6,000, and Jordin's family has created a GoFundMe to help cover expenses. The financial burden raises broader questions for local arts access and equity: students from lower-income families may miss national-level opportunities because of travel and program fees, even when talent and effort earn them a spot.

Local leaders and schools often point to music programs as protective for adolescent mental health and academic engagement. Jordin's story provides a tangible example of those benefits, while also calling attention to gaps in funding and support for extracurricular enrichment. For Kootenai County, the community response to Jordin's achievement can be both celebratory and practical - volunteers, booster clubs, and neighbors frequently step in to bridge funding gaps for young artists.

Jordin's All-State appearance in Nampa gives local audiences a chance to see a homegrown singer represent Lakeland, and her trip to Hawaii places Kootenai County talent on a national stage. For readers, the immediate next step is supporting Jordin's travel fundraising or advocating for sustained arts funding in schools so future students can access similar opportunities without prohibitive cost barriers.