Jason Alva came to Bishop Dunne for one reason: the Drum Line.

“Bishop Dunne’s drum line came to perform at my school, St. Cecilia’s, when I was in the eighth grade,” he noted. “And right then and there, I knew I wanted to be a part of the drum line, and a part of Bishop Dunne.”

Only problem was, Jason didn’t play the drums – or any other instrument, for that matter.

But his determination to become a part of something bigger than himself pushed him to come to Dunne to learn the percussion section. “I came after school for a few hours each day in the spring of my eighth grade year to learn the drums,” he recalled, “so I could be a part of the band from my freshman year on.”

What he learned was every percussion instrument on campus. The snare is his favorite.

A graduate of St. Cecilia’s, he attended St. Elizabeth’s from kindergarten through third grade, where his brother Christopher, a fifth grader, attends now. He also has a brother Aaron, who goes to Trinity Christian Academy. 

Jason spends most of his time after school practicing his drums with the drum line or band, and many a Saturday leading a parade or playing in a music festival. He looks forward to the Kessler Park United Methodist Church Easter Parade every year, which falls this year on Saturday, March 30, and a chance to return to Cowboys Stadium in Arlington to play in April. “We performed once when the stadium wasn’t yet finished, so it will be good to be back to see the building completed and all the artwork they’ve added,” Jason revealed. 

When he’s not in school or practicing, you might find Jason working his job at Hollister in Uptown. He got the job, he said, because of what he learned at Bishop Dunne. “I was filling out the employment application, and was barely finished with it when someone said the manager wanted to talk to me right then. We walked across the street to sit outside of the Barnes and Noble, and he asked me if I was okay working with minorities,” Jason recalled. “I told him I went to Bishop Dunne Catholic School, where we embrace diversity and think it is a good thing. He hired me on the spot.” 

Jason’s first day was “Black Friday,” the day after Thanksgiving, and was, he said, “a crazy day. I walked into the back of the store and there were employees all over the floor in the back, bagging up piles of clothing, orders for the customers out front. I was completely overwhelmed that first day.” The five-hour shift seemed like an eternity, but things got easier and now Jason finds the job a blast, explaining that “the managers are funny and everyone there gets along.” He also finds the “uniform” he’s expected to wear acceptable. After all, he’s been wearing a uniform to school every day since kindergarten. He adds, “The clothes we wear are actually rather casual but nice. And we get a 50% discount on them.”

His attitude toward hard work and practice will suit him well as he heads off to college to study engineering. He has applied to both Stephen F. Austin College and The University of Texas at San Antonio. He plans to study computer engineering with a minor in Music Audio Production and may try to join the local drum line if it won’t take away from his academics. 

He has also spent time volunteering in the community, including trips to the North Texas Food Bank to box up food for the hungry, and at the Salvation Army, where he worked during the Christmas season, getting gift packs to families. Last semester, he tutored first graders at Maria Moreno Elementary, teaching them the alphabet. 

The Bishop Dunne Band has taught him a lot, and he thinks being in it and learning to read music has helped with his math scores. His favorite teacher is Tom Perez, “because he teaches me in a way I can understand math,” he asserted, and enjoys Ms. Bove’s anatomy class almost as much. Last year Ms. Shreve’s English class was his favorite, “even though she’s tough and I’m a math guy – I learned a lot, and she makes class so fun,” he said. Robert Fajardo is his third percussion teacher at Dunne, and, according to Jason, “probably the best we’ve had. He breaks down the music we’re learning to the basics, so it’s easy to read. And he looks so young; I thought he was a new student when I first met him! He’s fun to have directing us.” 

Also fun were the many trips he’s taken with the band and the trip to Orlando his sophomore year for the Blue Ribbon Conference. He relates how he got to meet students from all over the country there, and talk with them about their schools and their programs. And of course, he added, “we had a few days to see the sights and ride the rides!”

His four years at Dunne have been a smooth ride, with few surprises, but Homecoming Week provided a big one. Jason didn’t expect to be nominated for the homecoming court, and, he said, “That – in itself – was a huge honor.” The surprise came during the pep rally when, after performing, the nominees were called out onto the gym floor. And there, in front of the entire student body and all his teachers, his name was called for the 2012 Homecoming King. “I was shocked!” he admitted. “I figured someone more popular than I would get it – one of our big football players or someone like that.”

The drum line has been taught to keep a straight face and not look at the camera if someone is taking a picture. “Even if a TV camera is in your face, we are to remain stoic,” Jason explained. But that afternoon last fall, he said, “I couldn’t help myself. I was smiling ear to ear.”

That smile wasn’t always as perfect as it looks today. One thing you don’t know about Jason is the scar over his lip was caused by his jumping from one bench to another in a park when he was about 12. “I was mad at my brother and acting out. I slipped and my face came down hard on the bench, which knocked out my tooth and tore my lip wide open,” he remembered. Stitches fixed him up, and the tooth was replaced by a permanent one that grew in later. But Jason learned a good lesson: he won’t be jumping around a lot in college and pledges that he’ll be focused on his studies, and graduating on time.

That’s one thing he knows a lot about: after all, the drum line’s job is to keep the beat going, and Jason Alva is going – on time, and in the right direction.

Story and photo courtesy of Judith E. Porter, Director of Community Outreach at Bishope Dunne Catholic School