Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stated, “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.” Throughout my educational journey, I have strived to demonstrate both intelligence and good moral character, in addition to helping in my local community. For these reasons, I believe that I am deserving of the Emma Elsie Schell Dudley Scholarship. Education has always been important to me. Coming from a family of educators, they instilled in me the value of hard work and doing my best in school and my extracurricular activities. I set a goal for myself when I entered high school to attain the highest grade point average that I could. I currently have a 4.3 GPA, which is in the top 2% of my senior class. I am also the highest ranked male senior. By taking challenging classes, including ten Advanced Placement classes and two dual enrollment classes, I was able to accomplish my goal. Throughout my daily interactions, I do what I can to help others around me. I enjoy helping my peers with schoolwork in classes such as AP Calculus, AP World History, AP Precalculus, and Chemistry. As a proud member of the Fayette County Marching Tigers and Wind Ensemble, I serve as the low brass section leader and first chair for the euphonium section. One responsibility of being section leader is helping my section members with learning music and drills, while also keeping them organized and on task so things can run smoothly. Before and after school, I help younger band members with learning their etudes and scales that they need to know for chair placement auditions. In my local community, I volunteer with the setup and break down of my city's amphitheater for musical events. I am also a member of the Fayette County NAACP Youth Branch. I assist with setting up for our annual financial literacy and juvenile justice panels. Lastly, I am part of the Media Ministry at my church, where I help control the audio for church service so everything runs smoothly. Something that I am most proud of was volunteering to compose a song for my school’s Black History Month program that my AP Music Theory class performed. After two days of hard work, I presented the piece titled “The Promise of Hope” to the class. My classmates loved it! My teacher then challenged me to conduct my piece for the entire school. I was nervous to conduct, but the exhilarating feeling of an audience listening to my music was amazing. My friends were surprised when they saw me conducting my original piece, but they gave me a lot of praise. My current goal is to go to college and major in Music Industry Studies with a minor in business at Florida A&M University. After I graduate college, I plan to be a successful music producer/sound engineer. My dream is to produce music for big name artists in many genres, mainly hip-hop and R&B. I also aspire to have my music featured in movies, TV shows, and commercials. Additionally, I would love to compose music for bands, shows, or movies. I have a passion for creating music, and I would love to have some of my compositions published by the Hal Leonard Corporation, an organization that distributes sheet music for bands.

Everyday, I literally hear music notes in my head. I visualize sheet music in my brain and create parts for different instruments to make a song. Before falling asleep, I create loops in my head that could be used for different rap songs. I dissect the sounds of different songs that I listen to and convert them into sheet music. Music has a deep impact on my life; I cannot go through it without thinking about something involving music. My passion for creating and listening to music has dominated my life for years. My talent for playing music began in sixth grade when I joined my school’s band and started playing the euphonium. I continued my musical journey by participating in my school’s marching and concert bands all through high school. I am currently the section leader for the baritone section and the first chair in the Wind Ensemble, which is the highest concert band in my school. Taking a music theory class during my sophomore year helped me figure out what I want to pursue for my career. My music theory teacher, Mrs. Harris, taught us the fundamentals of music composition, such as scales, chord structures, and part- writing. She assigned an end-of-semester composition project. This project is where I became enamored with the idea of creating my own music for other people to enjoy. I began composing music in my free time and researching music production. I loved playing around in free digital audio workspaces like Soundtrap to create musical loops. I realized I want to have a career in which I can create the music I love listening to, and music production seems the best route to take. That summer, I attended an amazing music production camp at Georgia State University. The professors taught us about different aspects of the music industry like how record labels work and how to earn revenue from making music. My favorite part of the camp was working in groups in one of the music studios to create a song. This camp influenced my decision to chase a career as a music producer and audio engineer. The feeling of being in a studio, recording music, adding effects, creating loops from scratch, and mixing it enthralled me. This past February, I volunteered to compose a song for my school’s Black History Month program for my AP Music Theory class to perform. After two days of hard work, I presented the piece titled “The Promise of Hope” to the class. My classmates loved it! My teacher then challenged me to conduct my piece for the entire school. I was nervous to conduct my piece but the exhilarating feeling of an audience listening to my music was amazing. This solidified my desire to study music industry studies and composition to become a music producer and composer. I would love to create soundtracks for movies and music for television. I hope to leave a legacy on the musical world like John Williams or Pi’erre Bourne.

Everyday, I literally hear music notes in my head. I visualize sheet music in my brain and create parts for different instruments to make a song. Before falling asleep, I create loops in my head that could be used for different rap songs. I dissect the sounds of different songs that I listen to and convert them into sheet music. Music has a deep impact on my life; I cannot go through it without thinking about something involving music. My love and innate ability for creating and listening to music has dominated my life for years. My talent for playing music began in sixth grade when I joined my school’s band and started playing the euphonium. I continued my musical journey by participating in my school’s marching and concert bands all through high school. Taking a music theory class during my sophomore year helped me figure out what I want to pursue for my career. My music theory teacher, Mrs. Harris, taught us the fundamentals of music composition, such as scales, chord structures, and part- writing. She assigned an end-of-semester composition project. This project is where I became enamored with the idea of creating my own music for other people to enjoy. I began composing music in my free time and researching music production. I loved playing around in free digital audio workspaces like Soundtrap to create musical loops. I realized I want to have a career in which I can create the music I love listening to, and music production seems the best route to take. That summer, I attended a music production camp at Georgia State University, where I had an amazing experience. The professors taught us about different aspects of the music industry like how record labels work and how to earn revenue from making music. My favorite part of the camp was working in groups in one of the music studios to create a song.This camp influenced my decision to chase a career as a music producer and audio engineer. The feeling of being in a studio, recording music, adding effects, creating loops from scratch, and mixing it enthralled me, and at that point, I wanted nothing else. This past February, I volunteered to compose a song for my school’s Black History Month program for my AP Music Theory class to perform. After two days of hard work, I presented the piece titled “The Promise of Hope” to the class. My classmates loved it! My teacher then challenged me to conduct my piece for the entire school. I was nervous to conduct my piece but the exhilarating feeling of an audience listening to my music was amazing. This led to my desire to study music industry studies and composition to become a music producer and composer. I would love to create soundtracks for movies and music for television. I hope to leave a legacy on the musical world like John Williams or Pi’erre Bourne. Another career goal that I have is to write show music for high school bands. I have performed with my high school marching band all four years of high school. The connections I formed with my band members, Bandtober competitions, the challenges of learning show music has created a desire in me to give the same experience to other high school students. I want to write show music for band programs so that students can have the same experiences that I have had. I also plan to volunteer with my high school marching band program during band camp to help new band students learn to march and play their show music.

Everyday, I literally hear music notes in my head. I visualize sheet music in my brain and create parts for different instruments to make a song. Before falling asleep, I create loops in my head that could be used for different rap songs. I dissect the sounds of different songs that I listen to and convert them into sheet music. Music has a deep impact on my life; I cannot go through it without thinking about something involving music. My love and innate ability for creating and listening to music has dominated my life for years. My talent for playing music began in sixth grade when I joined my school’s band and started playing the euphonium. I continued my musical journey by participating in my school’s marching and concert bands all through high school. Taking a music theory class during my sophomore year helped me figure out what I want to pursue for my career. My music theory teacher, Mrs. Harris, taught us the fundamentals of music composition, such as scales, chord structures, and part- writing. She assigned an end-of-semester composition project. This project is where I became enamored with the idea of creating my own music for other people to enjoy. I began composing music in my free time and researching music production. I loved playing around in free digital audio workspaces like Soundtrap to create musical loops. I realized I want to have a career in which I can create the music I love listening to, and music production seems the best route to take. That summer, I attended a music production camp at Georgia State University, where I had an amazing experience. The professors taught us about different aspects of the music industry like how record labels work and how to earn revenue from making music. My favorite part of the camp was working in groups in one of the music studios to create a song.This camp influenced my decision to chase a career as a music producer and audio engineer. The feeling of being in a studio, recording music, adding effects, creating loops from scratch, and mixing it enthralled me, and at that point, I wanted nothing else. This past February, I volunteered to compose a song for my school’s Black History Month program for my AP Music Theory class to perform. After two days of hard work, I presented the piece titled “The Promise of Hope” to the class. My classmates loved it! My teacher then challenged me to conduct my piece for the entire school. I was nervous to conduct my piece but the exhilarating feeling of an audience listening to my music was amazing. This led to my desire to study music industry studies and composition to become a music producer and composer. I would love to create soundtracks for movies and music for television. I hope to leave a legacy on the musical world like John Williams or Pi’erre Bourne. Another career goal that I have is to write show music for high school bands. I have performed with my high school marching band all four years of high school. The connections I formed with my band members, Bandtober competitions, the challenges of learning show music has created a desire in me to give the same experience to other high school students. I want to write show music for band programs so that students can have the same experiences that I have had. I also plan to volunteer with my high school marching band program during band camp to help new band students learn to march and play their show music.

Everyday, I literally hear music notes in my head. I visualize sheet music in my brain and create parts for different instruments to make a song. Before falling asleep, I create loops in my head that could be used for different rap songs. I dissect the sounds of different songs that I listen to and convert them into sheet music. Music has a deep impact on my life; I cannot go through it without thinking about something involving music. My love and innate ability for creating and listening to music has dominated my life for years. My talent for playing music began in sixth grade when I joined my school’s band and started playing the euphonium. I continued my musical journey by participating in my school’s marching and concert bands all through high school. Taking a music theory class during my sophomore year helped me figure out what I want to pursue for my career. My music theory teacher, Mrs. Harris, taught us the fundamentals of music composition, such as scales, chord structures, and part- writing. She assigned an end-of-semester composition project. This project is where I became enamored with the idea of creating my own music for other people to enjoy. I began composing music in my free time and researching music production. I loved playing around in free digital audio workspaces like Soundtrap to create musical loops. I realized I want to have a career in which I can create the music I love listening to, and music production seems the best route to take. That summer, I attended a music production camp at Georgia State University, where I had an amazing experience. The professors taught us about different aspects of the music industry like how record labels work and how to earn revenue from making music. My favorite part of the camp was working in groups in one of the music studios to create a song.This camp influenced my decision to chase a career as a music producer and audio engineer. The feeling of being in a studio, recording music, adding effects, creating loops from scratch, and mixing it enthralled me, and at that point, I wanted nothing else. This past February, I volunteered to compose a song for my school’s Black History Month program for my AP Music Theory class to perform. After two days of hard work, I presented the piece titled “The Promise of Hope” to the class. My classmates loved it! My teacher then challenged me to conduct my piece for the entire school. I was nervous to conduct my piece but the exhilarating feeling of an audience listening to my music was amazing. This led to my desire to study music industry studies and composition to become a music producer and composer. I would love to create soundtracks for movies and music for television. I hope to leave a legacy on the musical world like John Williams or Pi’erre Bourne. I volunteer with my church in the media ministry. I help with the soundboard and the online broadcast of our church service. I also help with the set-up and breakdown of our community’s amphitheater for the yearly local concert series. I am a member of the NAACP youth branch. Through the NAACP, I have assisted with the setup and breakdown of our annual financial literacy and juvenile justice forums.

Everyday, I literally hear music notes in my head. I visualize sheet music in my brain and create parts for different instruments to make a song. Before falling asleep, I create loops in my head that could be used for different rap songs. I dissect the sounds of different songs that I listen to and convert them into sheet music. Music has a deep impact on my life; I cannot go through it without thinking about something involving music. My love and innate ability for creating and listening to music has dominated my life for years. My talent for playing music began in sixth grade when I joined my school’s band and started playing the euphonium. I continued my musical journey by participating in my school’s marching and concert bands all through high school. Taking a music theory class during my sophomore year helped me figure out what I want to pursue for my career. My music theory teacher, Mrs. Harris, taught us the fundamentals of music composition, such as scales, chord structures, and part- writing. She assigned an end-of-semester composition project. This project is where I became enamored with the idea of creating my own music for other people to enjoy. I began composing music in my free time and researching music production. I loved playing around in free digital audio workspaces like Soundtrap to create musical loops. I realized I want to have a career in which I can create the music I love listening to, and music production seems the best route to take. That summer, I attended a music production camp at Georgia State University, where I had an amazing experience. The professors taught us about different aspects of the music industry like how record labels work and how to earn revenue from making music. My favorite part of the camp was working in groups in one of the music studios to create a song.This camp influenced my decision to chase a career as a music producer and audio engineer. The feeling of being in a studio, recording music, adding effects, creating loops from scratch, and mixing it enthralled me, and at that point, I wanted nothing else. During the same summer, I was diagnosed with diabetes. I got sick in the middle of band camp and had a two night stay in the hospital. Throughout marching band season, I experienced various symptoms of high and low blood sugar levels, which impacted my ability to perform with the band. I ultimately was able to stabilize enough to participate in the marching band. We even won two grand championship trophies during our competition season. This past February, I volunteered to compose a song for my school’s Black History Month program for my AP Music Theory class to perform. After two days of hard work, I presented the piece titled “The Promise of Hope” to the class. My classmates loved it! My teacher then challenged me to conduct my piece for the entire school. I was nervous to conduct my piece but the exhilarating feeling of an audience listening to my music was amazing. This led to my desire to study music industry studies and composition to become a music producer and composer. I would love to create soundtracks for movies and music for television. I hope to leave a legacy on the musical world like John Williams or Pi’erre Bourne.

Everyday, I literally hear music notes in my head. I visualize sheet music in my brain and create parts for different instruments to make a song. Before falling asleep, I create loops in my head that could be used for different rap songs. I dissect the sounds of different songs that I listen to and convert them into sheet music. Music has a deep impact on my life; I cannot go through it without thinking about something involving music. My love and innate ability for creating and listening to music has dominated my life for years. My talent for playing music began in sixth grade when I joined my school’s band and started playing the euphonium. I continued my musical journey by participating in my school’s marching and concert bands all through high school. Taking a music theory class during my sophomore year helped me figure out what I want to pursue for my career. My music theory teacher, Mrs. Harris, taught us the fundamentals of music composition, such as scales, chord structures, and part- writing. She assigned an end-of-semester composition project. This project is where I became enamored with the idea of creating my own music for other people to enjoy. I began composing music in my free time and researching music production. I loved playing around in free digital audio workspaces like Soundtrap to create musical loops. I realized I want to have a career in which I can create the music I love listening to, and music production seems the best route to take. That summer, I attended a music production camp at Georgia State University, where I had an amazing experience. The professors taught us about different aspects of the music industry like how record labels work and how to earn revenue from making music. My favorite part of the camp was working in groups in one of the music studios to create a song. This camp influenced my decision to chase a career as a music producer and audio engineer. The feeling of being in a studio, recording music, adding effects, creating loops from scratch, and mixing it enthralled me, and at that point, I wanted nothing else. My passion for music came to a head this past February, when I volunteered to compose a song for my school’s Black History Month program for my AP Music Theory class to perform. After two days of hard work, I presented the piece titled “The Promise of Hope” to the class. They all loved it! My teacher challenged me to conduct my piece for the entire school. My class learned the piece in four days. Although I was nervous conducting my piece in front of the school, the exhilarating feeling of an audience listening to my music was euphoric. That experience solidified my deep passion for music. It is my desire to study music industry studies or audio engineering to become a music producer. I also plan on minoring in music composition and data analysis. I want to use data analysis to look at trends in music in order to influence the music of the future. I would love to create soundtracks for movies and music for television. In order to do this, I must obtain a bachelor’s degree in my chosen fields. I hope to leave a legacy on the musical world like John Williams or Pi’erre Bourne.