For the 18-year-old Cascade Christian senior, music has offered the harmony of friendships and the challenge of learning to sing in front of 500 people.

"I get a joy out of singing," Carpenter says.

She is one of 69 graduates at Cascade Christian High School, the largest graduating class in the school's 17-year history.

Carpenter signed up for choir her freshman year and soon worked her way to ensemble, the top vocal group, says Lucy Milojevich, Cascade's music director.

"Brook has become more confident and her voice has become more mature and more beautiful over the years," Milojevich says.

Choir has taught Carpenter how to work as part of a team and singing solos has given her the confidence to be in front of people.

"I enjoy watching people's reactions to the song," Carpenter says.

Carpenter is more than a school musician. She earned a varsity letter in volleyball, played on the school's golf team, works part time at Bruno's Pizza and helped clean up the Jacksonville Cemetery every year as part of the school's community service project.

She also sings in a church choir and is an adoring big sister, say her parents, Lanny Carpenter, who works at Stampstruck, and Darrell Carpenter, administrator at First Baptist Church.

"Brook has been a second mother to (her brother) Samuel," Lanny Carpenter says. "She's a positive motivator, even more so than I am."

Carpenter wrote a senior paper about attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, ADHD, a subject inspired by her family's research for 6-year-old Samuel.

Carpenter's love for children extends beyond her brother. She chose her career path 12 years ago, inspired by her own kindergarten teacher, Judy Bourne at Grace Christian School.

"I wanted to grow up and be just like her," Carpenter says.

Her mother confirms it: "That's what she has always wanted to be. She will make a wonderful teacher because she is excellent with children."

Carpenter hopes to attend Simpson, a Christian college in Redding, Calif. But with $4,000 in scholarships and aid, she's short the $17,000 needed for annual tuition. She may start classes at Shasta College in the fall, along with her friend Tiffany Roehl, also a Cascade graduate.

Looking back over her high school years, Carpenter remembers her sophomore year as difficult. She stayed up until midnight or 1 a.m. many nights working on homework.

"My parents helped me survive that year," Carpenter says. "They told me not to give up because it would all get better, and it did."

Carpenter will graduate with a 3.88 grade-point average. The rewards have been great, she says.