Introducing our campus celebrity of the week, Kane Li! She is certainly chaning the lives of many with her involvement in the organization Music Changing Lives. She answers some questions for us about what she does for this program and what it has done for her.
Name: Kane Li
Year: 2nd
Major: Psychology
Hometown: Arcadia, California
1. What is Music Changing Lives?
Music Changing Lives (MCL) is a non-profit organization that uses music, art, fashion, film, and all the creative outlets to promote education and provide a safe and stable environment for at-risk youth. It is located in various locations in the Inland Empire: Redlands, San Bernardino, and Moreno Valley. The youth in our program have access to a music studio, an art studio, instructors, and academic tutors. Our hope is to help the youth reach their full potential by offering them these and many other resources. It started off as a humble little program out of Josiah Bruny’s home and is now being a globally known non-profit.
2. How did you get involved?
Music and art has always been an outlet for me, and I was lucky enough to go to a school that had an amazing music program. So when I was looking at clubs to potentially join last year at summer orientation as an incoming freshman, the table display and name caught my eye. I met last year’s president, Jade Chen, at the orientation and gave my e-mail so I could learn more. From there, I got involved as the Historian for the 2011 – 2012 school year. Now, I’m the current President!
3. What do you do?
I have a lot of titles right now because I do a little bit of everything so get ready for my list. I’m the current president of the student club, but I’m also the program manager of the Moreno Valley-Riverside area for the non-profit. As both, I oversee the staff at UCR of about 30 of volunteer and work study students and ensure that the programs in my region are running smoothly. I work directly with the youth as a music instructor for music theory, piano, clarinet, and bass clarinet, tutor, mentor, and art instructor for both traditional and digital art. I’m sometimes a photographer for MCL so a lot of my photos are featured in various MCL promotional items. I also work with MCL and two graduate students at Claremont University on an ongoing community-based research project. But, that’s just me! Most of the MCL staff work as a tutor and/or instructor for music, art, fashion, and more. We try to be as flexible as possible so we’re always looking for new ideas or programs to implement.
4. What is the most rewarding thing about MCL?
This is probably going to sound cheesy and cliché, but working with the youth is definitely the most rewarding thing about being part of MCL. It’s really inspirational and amazing to see how talented and hard working the youth are. They’re all honestly great kids, and it’s great to see the finished projects that they work hard on. At the same time, working with the MCL team is also extremely rewarding. There have been ups and downs throughout my time here, but I have met so many people who I’m very grateful to know and work with.
5. How has this program helped shaped you as a person?
MCL has helped me so much by opening the doors to so many opportunities. I’ve been recognized for my volunteer work with MCL by members of Congress, Riverside city Council, and House of Representatives. I’ve even been featured on the White House Blog, Points of Light. I also developed my photography skills as the historian last year so a lot of my photos have been featured on various promotional materials for the non-profit. But most importantly, MCL is really helping me by basically making me break out of my comfort zone a lot. I use to be afraid of failing so I would hesitate and think a little too much, but I can’t really do that because it causes me to make a lot of small mistakes. It really allows me to develop as an individual and as a leader because I’m constantly trying or adjusting to something new so I’m not as scared to make mistakes.
6. If people want to know more about MCL, what should they do?
They can always go to www.musicchanginglives.org to learn more about the non-profit, look at our facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/MusicChangingLivesIE) to see pictures of us in action, or contact me directly at kli011@ucr.edu to talk about MCL.
7. What else do you do outside of Music Changing Lives?
Well, I’m the Her Campus UC Riverside Secretary/Co-Publicity Director so I’m helping plan the fashion show for April. Outside of that, I draw, do photography, watching youtube videos, sleep, and eat. But, I really want to volunteer at a rape crisis center or do something with foster care children. I’m not exactly sure yet so I’m looking into opportunities for those.
8. How do you balance all this with schools?
I’m pretty busy every week so I use a lot of things to help me stay organized. On my wall, I have a calendar where I write all the due dates and important dates so I can see it up front every time I walk into my room. I also have a small whiteboard where I write reminders for the really important stuff. For my daily schedule, I have my phone calendar since I’m really bad at keeping up with a written planner.
9. What do you want to do in the future?
I want to go to graduate school to get a doctorate in clinical psychology. I would like to work with adolescence with clinical depression, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, and anxiety disorders. At the moment, I’m considering my other options though so we’ll see where I end up in a few years! I’ll just continue to work hard so I can help others.