Hello my name is Adrian Oliver and I’m a Masters of Music Business student at Berklee College of music in Boston, MA and I was recently admitted to Harvard Business online for their sustainable Investing course for the March of 2024 cohort, which amazes me each day, being from where I’m from. Ever since I was a 10 years old I’ve been a go getter, my late uncle who served in Vietnam instilled that in me, who was somewhat of a father figure as well. At 8 years old I was buying wholesale snacks, to resell to my middle school peers and, I knew exactly what wholesale meant. By the time I was 15 years old, I was at Edward’s Jones trying to buy 800 dollars worth of apple stock, which the broker told me was a gamble, if he had let me buy them, I would have had $80,000 by my 18th birthday, luckily we have Robin Hood Today. I’m a huge dreamer, I’ve always wanted to own my own business, today I have two, a music publishing company and a taxation real estate company which are both getting off the ground. I was raised by single mother who is ill now, so when I work hard it is to repay for getting me this far. School and life in general wasn’t always smooth sailing for me, I over came a lot. At the age of 7 I had a traumatic head injury and I would have seizures until the age of 12 because of that, I missed the entire 5th grade, I was expected to pass away. At the age of 21 after a traumatic event, I was diagnosed with Schizophrenia, I dropped out of college my junior year and didn’t return for 9 years until the age of 30 years old. I graduated college at 31 from Thomas Edison State University a few days before my 32nd birthday with a 4.0 institutional GPA. Bringing me to my current situation at Berklee College of music where I hold a 4.0 Graduate GPA. Life has been going well for the first time and I’m a little afraid sometimes that it’s going to all fall apart sometimes, which is my worst nightmare. Schizophrenia took a huge toll on my life, and also left me in a huge amount of debt with school over $100,000. I’m a fighter when I was really ill I kept trying to go back to school, I would fail every semester, but I would try. I serve in my community as a business owner and music educator and friend, I try to be the best man I can be at all times. I’m a huge advocate of education rather it’s from a University or YouTube, I share what I’ve learned with anyone who will listen. I want to stay in school, I’m considering getting a second masters from Columbia University in their Master’s of Music education, which the director has shown strong interest in my application even stating they will be looking forward to it. Scholarship towards my student loans would do me great justice, I’ve had a hard time with school, with not much financial support, I’m a first generation college student and graduate student, which has been quite a challenge but it my responsibility to push forward and I own that task proudly. Having help pay off college could put, me closer to owning a home, closer to getting funding for my businesses to get off the ground and just a better shot at life. Any help is appreciated, in gratitude.

Dr. Martin Luther King Once Said, “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.” Education is one of the most powerful tools in human development. Education can turn a homeless man into a CEO. Education can turn a convicted man into a lawyer. Education can free a man from bondage and slavery. I’m proud to say I am a black man who values education, very dearly. I grew up on section 8 and food stamps, my mother developed a mental illness when I was ten years old. Education wasn’t preached in my home; I didn’t see many people go to college in my community. So, when I went to college and in my junior year, the stress caused me to develop schizophrenia, and my dreams were shattered. I got on medication, I kept fighting. I kept reading, I kept practicing my musical instrument. I became closer to God by reading the bible. I was a grown man, with a college background, and my illness almost caused me to not be able to read. I gained a lesson in humility I almost lost my ability to comprehend the world around me. I graduated this past September from university with a 4.0 GPA and I was accepted into what billboard magazine calls the best Music Business school in the United States, Berklee College of Music. I had so many odds stacked against me and having the opportunity to receive an education moved mountains in my life. I gained a lesson in humility, the ability to even use our minds to a full capacity is a privilege. I know the importance of passing an education on to my children so they can overcome it just as I did. I recently watched an interview with Robert Smith, the wealthiest Black man in American history on earn your leisure. Smith stated he was a 4th generation college student, it makes a difference. Education brought healing and change into my life; it broke the curses set before me. Education gave me a fighting chance. I learned to speak my truth and plant seeds even when, I feel no one is listening, even when there is no sunshine, because you never know where they will grow. I will pass the value of an education to my children and I hope my grandchild will do the same.

Life can be tricky sometimes. I am a black man living in Saint Louis Missouri, often ranked in the top 5 of American crime rates. I have a diagnosis of schizophrenia. I didn’t have a father; I grew up in a single-parent home from a mother with debilitating mental illness. I am often deemed as a double negative statistic. On top of that, I’m twice as likely to be denied funding when I apply for a home or business loan. I’m twice as likely not to be hired in a job interview. So, I start my life with student loan debt, now what? I went to college because, the inheritances of wisdom and finances were not passed down to me, from my father or grandfather. I wanted to create my narrative. Many black men in my city go to jail before the age of 25, and I didn’t want that for myself. How do I process all of this? First, I am not a victim, I have the power to change anything if my life for the better. I’m a firm believer that God will move mountains, but we have to be willing to put in the work. I don’t plan to spend the rest of my life paying student debt. I will create a business, that will change the narrative of my family. My children will not have student debt. I will own multi-family real estate. Business and entrepreneurship have always been my passion. Most of the world will pay their student loan debt off paycheck to paycheck. I will create an investment portfolio to automate my student loan payments. I will invest in real estate and dividends-paying stocks, strategically. One or two multifamily properties can automate a student loan payment system for most Americans. Programs such as NACA and FHA make home ownership available to most people. High-yield dividend EFTs from the likes of Invest Co and Vanguard can pay high returns on cash and turn cash into a cash cow. Learning to work more intelligently with money is my goal and strategy to pay off my student loans quickly. I am a musician, and I want to spend my life creating art it is my life’s passion. Long hours working a job for the rest of my life with my only goal being to pay bills and die to Uncle Sam doesn’t make sense to me. I need this scholarship as an investment in my future generations, if given a chance I will change the world.

Growing up below the poverty line in South Saint Louis, I watched my single mom go to food pantries on the bus line every week so my sister and I wouldn’t go hungry. Organizations like the urban league and a multitude of local churches saved my family. Things weren’t always hard for us, mother witnessed a murder and developed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder when we were very young, and it took its toll. If it wasn’t for good people, I don’t know where my family would be. When I got the opportunity to lend my gifts to help a nonprofit organization in my community, I jumped at the chance. I’m fortunate enough to lend my expertise to a wonderful group of young men and women in my community who love music deeply. I'm a volunteer assistant piano teacher and a local nonprofit called pianos for people. Pianos for people is an outreach program that serves children and even senior citizens who are disadvantaged and can’t afford music lessons. I love sharing my gifts and helping young people thrive. Not having many positive role models, I know the importance of young men and women having positive images of adults in their community, especially young black men because there are so many other things they can get into. How I plan to give back is by continuing to make myself available. I’m an introverted person so sometimes communicating my ideals can be a changeling. I realized that sometimes giving back is bigger than us. I would love to get more involved in teaching youth about starting businesses with their art and using it to better the lives of others. Teaching young men and women how to incorporate their LLCs would be a pleasure. I could teach youth musicians how accessible it is to make music for film and television as a business. Musicians need to know that there are stem careers in tech and music. I don’t have a solid plan for how to do all these things I would be dishonest if I said I did, but I will find a way. I often felt like I didn't have a voice as a youth. It took a while to come out of my shell. I have been fortunate enough to graduate college and have been accepted to a great graduate school. These things may seem against all odds for many black men and women in my community. I want to give back by showing my community anything is possible and to strive for greatness.

I am Adrian Christopher Oliver, and my love for art comes in the form of music. I am a first-generation college student, and I am a first-generation musician. I am a pianist, guitarist, composer, and audio producer. I feel that the arts, specifically music, have a healing power found in no other discipline because it indeed healed me. I came to love music as a child and specifically became a student of music after traumatic events. In my adolescent years, I had a challenging life. I grew up poor, but loved. In the 5th grade, I suffered a head injury from seizures; I went from the playground to living in a hospital. Eventually, I overcame it. A year later, I witnessed the murder of two very close family members. I had experienced more pain than I had ever had before; I spent many of my days in tears. The family member who passed away was my cousin; we grew up together, were best friends, and he was ten years old. I only took one thing to remember him by in his passing, and I took his small 25-key Yamaha keyboard. The song built into the small toy keyboard reminded me of my cousin; I went on to learn how to play that song. I spent my entire grade school academic career specializing in music. I became a multi-instrumentalist and music producer, and I graduated from a visual performing arts high school with a 3.9 my senior year. I was accepted to Webster University's conservatory. I was fortunate enough to study with a sweet but very stern woman who was a former pianist with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. As a musician, she left me with a quote, "you will have to steal, sample, and borrow to survive as an artist," It stuck with me for the rest of my life. A career in the arts is essential to me because It allows me to steal my joy, I can play a happy song, or I can write a sad Symphony. I can tell my story through music and leave my legacy through music. I can change my Identity through music. There are so many ways an artist can express themselves and make a living. I honestly could not see myself doing anything else. I graduated from Berklee Online with a certificate and from Thomas Edison State University with a Bachelor of Arts In Music in May 2022. My goal is to study music business at Berklee College of Music's graduate school and better understand music entrepreneurship and a career as a creative and an artist. I have received letters of recommendation for my former professors, who are Harvard Law and New England Conservatory graduates.

My name is Adrian Oliver, I’m a music composer and in 2012, I was diagnosed with Schizophrenia. My mental health is my reality, but is not my identity. Having schizophrenia caused me to put my academic career on hold but not my dreams. Before my diagnosis I had a challenging life, but music was my heart’s healer. At the age of 11 I joined my middle school’s band; I played trombone. I also found a knack for making beats in FL Studio which became my life’s passion. I grew up in a single parent household with a mother who suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. My mother was often angry and distant from me and my younger sister, we never understood why; this was my first experience dealing someone with a mental illness. I was often yelled at for practicing music, which was challenging because I truly loved music. To escape my painful childhood I was determined to go to college. I enrolled at an visual performing arts high school and found a true love for the piano; I would practice for hours often skipping social outings and even school lunches. My obsession with the piano earned me a scholarship as a music major at Webster University’s conservatory. My junior year at Webster University, life became challenging. Due to financial difficulties, I had to move back home. I had developed relationships with toxic friends, and the stress of upper level conservatory work took a huge toll on me. I soon fell ill. During this time I had no ideal what was happening to me, I began to imagine things, I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t complete my course work, so I dropped out. I spent the next few years in an out of hospitals, I had little support and I didn’t fully comprehend what was going on with my body. One doctor told me if you don’t start talking care of your self, eventually it will be to late. Eventually I said enough was enough. I became active on medication, healthy eating, prayer and self care. I was starting to feel like my old self again. Little by little I started talking classes at the community college in music, where I found a love for Jazz music. With great faith, I was blessed with the opportunity to study Jazz composition at Berklee College of Music, a goal I had set for my self almost a decade before. In May of 2022, completed my Bachelors Degree at Thomas Edison State University, my dreams came true! Recently I was fortunate enough to land a position as an in house producer at Push.audio, a music publisher who has a huge track record of producing music for national tv campaigns, feature films in Hollywood and Netflix. I’m living my dream; against the odds. I haven’t been hospitalized for my mental health in almost 5 years and I have received two recommendations to Study at Berklee College of Music for Graduate school from distinguished Berklee professors.