I chose to attend Howard University because as a fine arts major, I knew that Howard cultivated a talent of Black geniuses unlike any other HBCU. From Phylicia Rashad to Richard Smallwood to Roberta Flack, I have grown up watching how Howard alumni have contributed to Black and American culture. I am currently a rising sophomore Music Business major, Classical Voice minor. I appreciate that the Music Business major at Howard requires a minor because it was always an intentional goal of mine to learn about the music industry while simultaneously learning how to take care of my voice. As a Music Business major, the business classes I take include but are not limited to economics, statistics, Music Business seminar, accounting, and entertainment law. Whether I’m learning about supply and demand, royalties, or contracts, I can use the skills I’ve developed from college to navigate the music industry and better my own community. However, attending Howard means much more to me than earning a degree. My freshman year in the College of Fine Arts helped me discover the close-knit nature of the music department which coincides with my goal of finding lifelong friends. Additionally, I’ve been blessed to have professors who have taken me under their wing, encouraged me, and checked in on me. As I continue at Howard, I look forward to my growth and understanding of the HBCU experience.

Most children go back and forth about their careers. However, from the time I was a baby, I developed a love for music that would carry me throughout my childhood and still holds strong today. My lifelong dream of being a singer-songwriter has had its additions and revisions, but my life continues to revolve around music, and music continues to transform my life in numerous ways. Music has provided me with purpose and fulfillment, but more importantly music has given me a community. I hope to provide that same sense of community worldwide and use my art to bring awareness to social issues. I am a Black female pianist, but if you googled Black female pianists, many of the presented examples are no longer living. Besides Alicia Keys, few African American women are recognized as professional pianists within the music industry. So what? Well, not only does the lack of diversity hinder the development and growth of instrumental music, it restricts the narration of who is considered a professional pianist, which typically leaves Black female pianists out. By starting a mentorship program for young, Black female musicians, I believe that I can inspire them to become the change they don’t see and create diversity for underrepresented communities. Furthermore, by hearing prominent Black artists discuss their fight for creative control and financial stability, I realized that musicians are uneducated about how the music industry works. I don’t believe that the cycle of miseducation has to continue. With my degree in Music Business and experience, I hope to open my own record label. I intend to sign younger artists of diverse backgrounds and hold artist development programs, mentorship programs, and emerging artists platforms that offer guidance and encouragement to young musicians. By educating my artists on the financial aspects of the music industry, such as the financial benefits of owning one’s masters, I hope to create opportunities for economic empowerment, while using my label as a resource of business innovation. In an industry that takes advantage of inexperienced optimism, I aspire to use my label to create business mindsets among my mentees and drive social equity by promoting the lasting change of diversity and leadership. This scholarship is vital to my education because with the help of this scholarship, I will be able to fully focus on my academics and transform culture in a way that redefines cultural excellence.

At the Watkins Park Community Center, we ensure kids are safe, provided for, and welcomed. As a volunteer, I helped fulfill the center’s mission. I ensured that during snack time, the chairs were taken down and the snacks were brought out and served with a smile, creating the opportunity for kids experiencing socioeconomic challenges to have a positive and safe space to be outside of school. My involvement in community service at the community center contributes to my growth because it influences my awareness of time management and responsibility. As a volunteer, I engaged in time management because I was responsible for gauging when to take down chairs, set out snacks and serve them, and clean up the space. As a student, musician, and volunteer, I’m learning to make space for my values of serving others and time for my academic and career goals. Community service showed me that small gestures can make a significant difference in strengthening connections that transcend ages, cultures, and experiences. This connection that transcends constructs is the exact impact that I intend to make as a musician. By hearing prominent artists, especially African-American artists, discuss their fight for creative control and financial stability, I realized that musicians are really uneducated about how the music industry works. I don’t believe that the cycle of miseducation has to continue. Therefore, I plan to shift the culture in the music business industry by making space for young musicians of underrepresented communities to thrive. As a Music Business major, the business classes I take include but are not limited to economics, statistics, Music Business seminar, accounting, and entertainment law. Whether I’m learning about supply and demand, royalties, or contracts, I can use the skills I’ve developed from college to navigate the music industry and empower underrepresented communities, therefore positively impacting the world. With my degree in Music Business, as well as the skills I’ve developed from experience, I hope to open my own record label. I hope to sign younger artists of diverse backgrounds and further educate my artists on the business and financial aspects of the music industry, in hopes that they make decisions that support their career. I believe that my label can hold artist development programs, mentorship programs, and emerging artists platforms that offer guidance and encouragement to young businessmen and businesswomen. By educating my artists on the financial aspects of the music industry, such as the financial benefits of owning one’s masters, I hope to create opportunities for economic empowerment, while using my label as a resource of business innovation. In an industry that takes advantage of inexperienced optimism, I aspire to use my label to create business mindsets among my mentees and drive social equity by promoting the lasting change of diversity and leadership. Furthermore, as a young Black female pianist, I don’t see many other Black female pianists in the spotlight, and I hope to start a mentorship program for young, Black female musicians that help them become the change they don’t see. As a multi-hyphenated singer-songwriter-pianist and performer, I have a unique perspective to offer the world, and as someone who has never completely fit in as a student, Black girl, and musician, I aspire to become a role model that young girls, especially Black girls can look up to. This scholarship is vital to my education because with the help of this scholarship, I will be able to fully focus on my academics and transform culture in a way that redefines cultural excellence.

My biggest goal is to pour back into my own community, and I believe the first step in accomplishing that goal is earning my college education. This scholarship would help me achieve a college education and uplift my community. By hearing prominent Black artists discuss their fight for creative control and financial stability, I realized that musicians are really uneducated about how the music industry works. I don’t believe that the cycle of miseducation has to continue. As a Music Business major at Howard University, the business classes I take classes include but are not limited to economics, statistics, Music Business seminar, accounting, and entertainment law. Whether I’m learning about supply and demand, royalties, or contracts, I can use the skills I’ve developed from college to navigate the music industry and better my own community. With my degree in Music Business, as well as the skills I’ve developed from experience, I hope to open my own record label. I hope to sign younger, African American artists and with my record label, further educate my artists on the business and financial aspects of the music industry, in hopes that they make decisions that support their career. I believe that my label can hold artist development programs, mentorship programs, and emerging artists platforms that offer guidance and encouragement to young businessmen and businesswomen. I also hope to create a non-profit organization where I teach and mentor young Black girls on how to play the piano. As a young Black female pianist, I don’t see many other Black female pianists in the spotlight, and I want to teach other Black girls to be the change they don’t see. This scholarship is vital to my education because with the help of this scholarship, I will be able to fully focus on my academics, which facilitates my ability to transform culture in a way that redefines Black excellence. Additionally, paying for college thus far has been a challenge for me and my family because even with my 4.0 GPA in High school and college, Howard has not granted me a full ride. It was because of small scholarships and my savings that I paid for college my freshman year. My parents worked hard to help out as well, but the payment plan I was on required over $3,000 a month, which was not feasible for us. My academic schedule required me to be in classes from 8 AM- 6PM, and my afternoon breaks are given to academic responsibilities and coursework, making employment a challenge. However, scholarships, such as this, help me persist in my educational goals. In conclusion, this scholarship has the ability to transform my life in numerous ways that exceed financial assistance. This scholarship provides the ability to earn my college education, and I look forward as using this scholarship and my education as a way to assist others.

Can you imagine what the world would look like if more communities were represented equally? As a musician, my vision for combatting underrepresentation in the Black community includes creating opportunities for Black people to work in the music business, while developing skills in leadership and entrepreneurship. By creating opportunities for Black people to cultivate skills in the business industry, I hope to create a lasting change that exceeds economic empowerment, but celebrates diversity and champions a community of leaders. As an adolescent, I had the opportunity to benefit from similar programs. The Country Music Hall of Fame has given me several opportunities to use my gift in a way that serves others and simultaneously fosters leadership skills. They have provided me with mentors and allowed me to participate in a documentary about the journey of writing a song. This documentary showcased the process of collaboration between myself and a professional songwriter. With these opportunities, I have gained additional insight into how important clear communication, recordings, and collaboration are for leaders in the music business. Most importantly, this documentary has been the guidance for tens of thousands of viewers. I appreciate how the Country Music Hall of Fame has created a worldwide platform to uplift unrepresented backgrounds, such as the Black community, and I hope to create a platform that is similar in impact. By hearing prominent Black artists discuss their fight for creative control and financial stability, I realized that musicians are really uneducated about how the music industry works. I don’t believe that the cycle of miseducation has to continue. Therefore, I plan to shift the culture in the music business industry by making space for young Black men and women to thrive. As a Music Business major at Howard University, the business classes I take include but are not limited to economics, statistics, Music Business seminar, accounting, and entertainment law. Whether I am learning about supply and demand, royalties, or contracts, I can use the skills I have developed from college to navigate the music industry and better my own community. With my degree in Music Business, as well as the skills I have developed from experience, I hope to open my own record label and sign younger, African American artists. I believe that my label can hold artist development programs, mentorship programs, and emerging artists platforms that offer guidance and encouragement to young businessmen and businesswomen. By educating my artists on the financial aspects of the music industry, such as the financial benefits of owning one’s masters, I hope to create opportunities for economic empowerment, while using my label as a resource of business innovation. In an industry that takes advantage of underrepresented communities and inexperienced optimism, I aspire to use my label to create business mindsets among my mentees and drive social equity by promoting the lasting change of diversity and leadership in underrepresented communities.

Most children go back and forth about their careers. However, from the time I was a baby, I had developed a love for music that would carry me throughout my childhood and still holds strong today. As a baby, listening to music on a CD player was the most effective way to comfort me and calm my loud cries. Throughout childhood, I would drift off to sleep listening to music. My lifelong dream of being a singer-songwriter has had its additions and revisions, but my life continues to revolve around music, and music continues to transform my life in numerous ways. Music has provided me with purpose and fulfillment, as I am able to enjoy sharing my gift with the world. However, if I could sum up the transformation in a few words, music has shown me the importance of community. Since 2019, the Country Music Hall of Fame has given me several opportunities to use my gift in a way that serves others and simultaneously provides community. They have provided me with mentors, one of which calmed me down during a songwriting camp when I was anxious about not being able to create a song in the week deadline. I was deeply moved when the younger sister of a participant in the camp approached me to say how much she loved my song and my performance. Years later, I had the opportunity to participate in a documentary about the journey of writing a song. This documentary showcased the process of collaboration between myself and a professional songwriter. With these opportunities, I have gotten to experience the whole process of musicianship, which has given me more expertise on what to expect in the music industry and confirmed my love of being a musician. Most importantly, this documentary has been the guidance for tens of thousands of viewers. The Country Music Hall of Fame has connected me to a network of people who support each other, uplift each other, and help each other. Yet, they provide that same sense of community worldwide. Furthermore, as a former youth pianist and Music Director at my church, I have been blessed with more mentors and role models that have poured into my life over the years. Playing in a band provided me with a sense of comradery and fellowship that I only got a taste of while being a singer-songwriter. Playing piano for my church challenged my mentality in a way that nothing ever had before. I had to learn to be patient and I had to acknowledge critiques, without taking them personally. However, once I learned the importance of listening, my life changed because I began to experience the joy in being connected to a group of people who provided laughter and humor that was as consistent as their talent and hard work. Finally, I’m studying Music at Howard University. Before college, I was always interested in self-sufficiency, but being in college, especially one that’s in a new city, has given me a desire for community. Furthermore, being around others who have the same love for music that I do has given me a newfound sense of community. In conclusion, music has given me joy and a community. I hope to change the lives of others using music by providing community and mentorship to those in need.