The student: Vivian Ling, 14

School: River Hill High

Special achievement: She represented River Hill High School in the Junior All-State Orchestra, second violin.

What she says about it: "I've only played for about four years," she said. "I thank God for the privilege."

Her musical background: Vivian comes from a musical family. Vivian's twin sister, Lillian, plays cello. Her mother, Landa, teaches piano and plays at their church, the Chinese Bible Church of Howard County. Her father, Vincent, is a piano tuner.

Music is important to Vivian: "I listen to music all the time," she said. "I listen to trance music, techno, Korean pop, Korean hip-hop and Chinese pop."

What she does for fun: Vivian says she loves to watch movies and go shopping with her friends. She also likes to draw a type of Japanese animation called anime, which appears as children's cartoons, adult dramas and comedies, and games.

About school: "I don't exactly spend a lot of time for my studies, but I study enough to get good grades in school."

Vivian is a devout Christian: "Everything I am comes from God," she said.