When I was a child, I loved to sing. I would sing at home all the time until I drove my mother crazy. With a nine-year gap between my older sibling and me, music became my comfort and my calm. It also helped me excel in school. I used music as a way to learn, turning all my lessons into freestyle raps to memorize my core subjects. I was that child rocking back and forth in the classroom, using the beat to help me remember my answeers.

Using this method, I was able to maintain a spot on the Dean’s List for most of high school. My mother supported my passion by enrolling me in Saturday School in Gary, IN where gifted and talented students performed. I dreamed of being on Broadway and still have the old VHS tape my father recorded of me today.

I’ll never forget, being trained by Mr Al Boswell, professional actor from Broadway who taught us the correct terminology, stage placement, and performance techniques. By the time I finally stepped onto a Broadway stage, I was prepared, because I had been trained by professionals who believed in me.

That experience shaped my life. I want to give children an equal opportunity to be trained by professionals, to see the arts not as something “extracurricular activity," but as a powerful tool for learning life. The arts help children become lifelong learners while boosting confidence, raising test scores, and even creating career opportunities.

We saw the power of the arts during COVID. Without the power of the arts, we might have lost our minds. Artists helped carry us through. Whether visual, performing, culinary, or martial arts, all forms of art matter, and children deserve to explore them and find out how they can make a difference.

If I can reach one child, help them see the beauty of the arts, and how it can transform their life. I have done my job. Because then, they will have truly understood what they want to do and have the skills and the tools to succeed.

Arts for Schools formerly

Keeping arts in our community

Arts for All Campaign

International Festival Donations