As the winter semester begins, so does mandatory COVID-19 testing for all BYU students. While most are dragging their feet to get tested, not all view the requirement as irritating. This is a moment in time packed with opportunity for Justin Wilks, self-taught musician based in the Wilkinson Center who specializes in piano performance.

Wilks explained that since COVID has decreased traffic in the student center, he has been starved for a crowd. COVID has also kept him from volunteering to play the opening song in his religion class, leaving him with absolutely no outlet. That all changed on Monday with swarms of students coming in to get swabbed.

“At first, I thought a few were lining up to listen to my debut of ‘River Flows in You’, something I learned from a YouTube tutorial over break” reported Wilks. “But once I realized what was going on, I was ecstatic. I knew this was a real opportunity to make a difference during such a hard time”.

Wilks expressed that while the self promotion to hundreds and hundreds of students a day is nice, his motivations run deeper. His goal is to bring real hope and healing to BYU students in the face of the pandemic through a medley of songs including “Don’t Stop Believin’”, “Viva La Vida”, and “The Entertainer”.

“The only thing more contagious than COVID-19 is the spirit of music” says Wilks. 

Taking the pulse of the testing line’s thoughts on Wilk’s performances proved difficult, as most had airpods in, unavailable for an interview. Raleigh Madden, a local student employee in the Cougareat, volunteered to share her thoughts. 

“At least all these kids get to cycle through the line and leave in like 20 minutes. My shift at Taco Bell lasts three more hours.”

Wilks is taking it upon himself to wheel a piano into the RB gym soon, aiming to uplift and inspire students who opted to get tested there instead of the Wilkinson Center.