As a young mom, southwest Virginia resident Jenny Morin knew Interstate 81 better than most truck drivers.

She and her three daughters logged at least 300 miles on any given week for a decade and a half, as they made multiple trips from their home in Wytheville, Virginia, to the Renaissance Music Academy in Blacksburg.

The Renaissance Music Academy teaches stringed instruments, piano and music theory classes to 300 students each year.

“I wanted them to know and experience what excellence meant, and what it takes,” Jenny says of her parenting style. She wanted them to play the long game, and that they did. After years of relentless practice, cello and violin became second nature to the Morin girls.

But the real traits Jenny passed on to her daughters on all those long evenings weren’t simply stringed instrument mastery and appreciation of I-81 scenery. Jenny Morin was a living, breathing example of hard work, vision, enduring commitment and selflessness.

Well done, Mom!