Major: International and Global Studies
Minors: Music, Economics, and French
Where are you from originally?
I am from Brooklyn, NY. For anyone familiar with the city, I was born and in Bed-Stuy and raised, for most of my life, in Fort Greene.
What are you involved in on campus?
This semester year I was Music director of Voices of Soul, Producer of the Colored Museum which was sponsored by Brandeis Black Student Organization and Brandeis Ensemble Theater. Outside of these roles I took a dance class—and looked for every opportunity to shake my booty, and acted in a short play and a senior thesis. This year was my artsy year.
I know that you have been involved in liquid latex, how many years have you participated and what is your favorite part about it?
This year was my third year participating in Liquid Latex. My sophomore year I was a painter; last year I was Aladdin in the Disney themed group; and this year I was Dots® in The Candy Dream. My favorite part is split between being on stage and ripping off the latex. They both result in a “Whew…that just happened kind of feeling.”
I also heard that you had been creating a senior thesis, what was the focus of it? What was it about? What was the hardest part about putting it together?
I was a part of Alia Goldfarb’s senior thesis, Diversity, which was a collaborative work between her and a 7 person cast. We all co-wrote and starred in the show which centers on themes of how diversity, a virtue Brandeis aspires toward and boasts, plays out on campus. The show received great reviews and I am very proud to have been a part of something that generated critical and positive feedback.
How was your experience been as a member of Voices of Soul? How long have you been singing with them? What is your favorite part and what are you going to miss most when you are gone next year?
This was my third semester with Voices of Soul. It’s been a crazy relationship from the start. I started out, during my freshman year, a crazy fanboy. One of my best friends on campus, Stephanie Johnson, auditioned and got in our first semester—but she’s amazing. In the beginning I was contented just being a fanatic. I hadn’t yet started singing so trying out wasn’t even on my radar, but this changed soon.As a music minor, during my theory labs I had to sing. I would always drop the melody down an octave and the instructor pointed out that I had a “nice” range and a “nice” voice. I had never really heard that before. All of my friends from home laughed at my singing voice, so I tried to snub off the compliment. It planted a bug though and in my obsessive nature I began singing everywhere. After a semester of practice, I auditioned for Voices of Soul, Starving Artists and Company B and got rejected from all…but I got casted in Rent, so I wasn’t completed heart broken. I went abroad the next Fall, but when I came back I re-auditioned only for Voices of Soul and got in. It’s been home ever since.
I am going to miss too many things: auditions and jumping up and down when I hear amazing talent, singing with amazingly talented and warm people, laughing about random things, and hanging out with the group outside of rehearsal—I have some fond memories.
What are you doing this summer?
This summer I will be in Atlanta for what is called institute, my Teach for America training to be a teacher. I will be five weeks of intensive training and then, I believe, I get three weeks off, during which time I’ll be settling in the city (car, apartment, job and all)—hopefully!
What are your plans after you graduate?
I am moving to Atlanta and teaching middle school English and Social Studies with Teach For America. I’m really excited for this new chapter of my life even though this four year-chapter has been the most interesting and entertaining so far.
Where are you hoping to see yourself in five years down the line?
Five years is a mystery. I will probably just be finishing a grad program in…truthfully I don’t know. I’m hoping being in the real world identifies one of my interests as a passion that I can base my life around. Honestly, I may be aboard again; I may still be teaching; I might have an internship at an art’s institution…I can do this forever.
What is one thing you will miss most about Brandeis?
I always said that the most important thing about a school was that it had be my intellectual home. I was thirsty for an environment where I was constantly learning. I thought, before coming here, that this meant in the classroom, but Brandeis has accepted all of my seemingly disjunctive loves and allowed me to pursue them to whatever extreme I deemed. Of course I will miss my friends, but I’m really going to miss the chance to join a random class or random club.
What is one thing you will miss most about living in Waltham?
I will miss the stars in the New England sky. I know this is specific to Waltham. I was tempted to say the food, but I’m from New York City and I grew up fascinated by a night sky that never had any stars, just a bright, always dawning aurora.