I cannot recall a time when I did not have music in my life. My mother played classical music for me when I was in her womb. So, it has been embedded within my very makeup of life. At the age of two, I sang around the house expressing my love for opera and proclaiming to the world (My family) that I wanted to be an opera singer. From this tender age, I realized that I wanted to be a professional vocal performer as a career choice. I come from a large Caribbean family that always have been supportive of my dreams since noticing I was drawn to music. My family is my backbone, holding me up and encouraging me to pursue my love of singing. I began my journey by studying voice and getting involved with musical theatre throughout elementary, middle, and high school. Growing up, people would always comment on the classical sound of my voice when I would sing musical theatre selections. However, I was unable to comprehend the significance of their comments until I attended Dillard Center for the Arts. That was when I opened my mind and resonated with classical music. I learned what operatic singing was and discovered that it was the perfect fit for my voice and talent. Since then, I have worked tirelessly towards my goal to transform my dream into a reality by graduating from Florida State University with a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance. I will be continuing my path toward higher education this fall, pursuing a Master of Music from Florida State University. After graduate school, I plan on continuing to perform in the Young Artist programs and audition for opera companies around the world to one day obtain employment. My hope for the future is that I can be successful with my craft and serve as a role model. More specifically, as a young Black woman, I feel as though there is a limited amount of Black representation around my age group in the field of opera. Therefore, it is very important for me to be able to become that example for people. I will give back to the youth by visiting my former schools, Miramar Elementary, Parkway Middle, and Dillard High School, and encouraging them to follow their dreams. I think this would be a great way to engage students. I would love to take it a step further and visit other schools as my career progresses.

I cannot recall a time when I did not have music in my life. My mother played classical music for me when I was in her womb. So, it has been embedded within my very makeup of life. At the age of two, I sang around the house expressing my love for opera and proclaiming to the world (My family) that I wanted to be an opera singer. From this tender age, I realized that I wanted to be a professional vocal performer as a career choice. I come from a large Caribbean family that always have been supportive of my dreams since noticing I was drawn to music. My family is my backbone, holding me up and encouraging me to pursue my love of singing. I began my journey by studying voice and getting involved with musical theatre throughout elementary, middle, and high school. Growing up, people would always comment on the classical sound of my voice when I would sing musical theatre selections. However, I was unable to comprehend the significance of their comments until I attended Dillard Center for the Arts. That was when I opened my mind and resonated with classical music. I learned what operatic singing was and discovered that it was the perfect fit for my voice and talent. Since then, I have worked tirelessly towards my goal to transform my dream into a reality by graduating from Florida State University with a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance. While attending Florida State University, I have been a part of opera workshops, and productions with FSU Opera, the Women’s Glee Club, Choral Union, and Chamber Choir. I have also studied the languages of Italian, French, Spanish, and German. This summer I will be attending The Festival of International Opera (FIO) Italia Summer Program is an immersive 5-week Young Artist experience in Urbania, Italy. It will enhance my acting, performing skills, diction, and overall knowledge. it will also help prepare me for my transition to graduate school this fall, pursuing a Master of Music from Florida State University. The primary goal I aim to achieve while obtaining my Master of Music (MM) in Voice Performance is expanding my knowledge of opera, pedagogy, vocal techniques, and other topics within the major. As a graduate student, I will enhance these skills by working with my designated professor and succeeding academically. After obtaining my MM in Voice Performance, I plan on continuing to perform in the Young Artist programs and audition for opera companies around the world to one day obtain employment. I am more than ready to continue my path toward higher education in my music studies. My hope for the future is that I can be successful with my craft and serve as a role model. More specifically, as a young Black woman, I feel as though there is a limited amount of Black representation around my age group in the field of opera. Therefore, it is very important for me to be able to become that example for people. I will give back to the youth by visiting my former schools, Miramar Elementary, Parkway Middle, and Dillard High School, and encouraging them to follow their dreams. I think this would be a great way to engage students. I would love to take it a step further and visit other schools as my career progresses. Thank you for providing me and others with the opportunity to apply for your scholarship.

I cannot recall a time where I did not have music in my life. Ever since I was two years old, I constantly watched singing videos. I was fascinated with not only the video aspect, but the voice, sound, words, and interpretation. From a very young age, I realized that I wanted to professionally sing for my career choice. When I was in highschool I took the necessary steps to apply to various prestigious universities, in hopes of studying music. I am currently a Sophomore Voice Performance major at The Florida State University (FSU) and I am very fortunate to be able to call FSU my home. Being a part of the college of music at FSU is imperative to me because it was my top choice when applying to schools. Moreover, being in the Vocal Performance degree program at FSU is such an honor because there are only 14 students in the sophomore class in the program out of the entire university. As I mentioned before, ever since I was younger I had a calling for music, singing completes me in a way that I have never experienced with anything else. Music is my passion because it allows me to express my true self. In the past, I never felt confident in my ability because I grew up in an area where singing classical music was considered “weird”. It took me a while to embrace my talent and decide to obtain my dream of becoming a professional opera singer and travelling the world. I cannot imagine how my life would have turned out if I had chosen to take a different path. If I did not have the opportunity to attend FSU as a Voice Performance major, I would have been utterly lost. FSU has aided in my growth not only as a musician, but as a person and I could not see myself studying music at any other university for my undergraduate degree.