Alexander Lowe, biology student-turned-music performance major and percussionist, is ready to graduate after four years. This is his last semester here at WSU, and Lowe has major plans to follow his love of music — wherever it takes him.

Lowe grew up in the Tri-Cities, Washington, and inherited his love of music from his father, who plays guitar.

He has been playing drums since he was in fifth grade and has been in school bands ever since. But he wasn’t sure music was his passion until he took a break before college life, when he joined two professional bands.

“It was an eye-opening experience,” Lowe said. “And I really started to kind of see other kinds of music differently. It helped me open up more on that side.”

Lowe entered WSU as a biology major, but soon found that this path was not for him. His first semester made him switch to music after he took lessons from WSU music professor David Jarvis.

Jarvis, who has known Lowe for years now, said he wants to see how Lowe will grow as a musician once he has said his goodbyes to WSU. He is hoping that the exposure to new music Lowe has experienced will shape him into the best player he can be.

“He’s always been one to work hard and achieve what he wants,” Jarvis said, “and conquers all to get things done.”

Lowe currently helps manage a couple of musical groups around Pullman, and he has been working with music marketing. The love of bringing people together through music has been a huge passion of his, because that was how it finally clicked for him.

“It was just the people I surrounded myself with,” Lowe said. “We all wanted the same goal, and the same end result. It’s been nice finding that community over the years here.”

A person of that community is Lowe’s roommate and long-time friend Keenan Wright, senior wildlife ecology major, who clicked with Lowe through the love of drums. The two were so similar, and even started gigging with each other.

“He’s seen some hardships, and he’s always chosen to make them something good,” Wright said. “That’s really something I admire. He’s just a really cool dude.”

When Lowe graduates after this last semester, he plans to move to the westside or California to pursue his music career. He wants to find groups of like-minded, artistically driven people and produce music, join bands, write, work on music projects, and anything else he can get his hands on.

Lowe is proud of what lessons he has learned here. He has loved the bands he has been a part of — North Paw and the Latin Jazz Band, currently — and the people he has met along the way. He said he was inspired by his mentors such as Jarvis, professor Brian Ward, famous jazz player Horace Alexander Young and Cuban graduate music student Raoul Blanca. Lowe said he hopes that now, as he pursues his future, that he can bring those lessons to the world.

“Raoul always said, when you’re playing with others or going solo, play like it’s the last time that you’re ever going to play,” Lowe said.

As his goodbye to his career at WSU, Lowe has his senior recital at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 12 at Kimbrough Music Building. Then, he is off to follow his music.