Jasmine Sullivan? Don’t you mean Jasmine Pollard!? Jasmine Pollard is one of the great singing voices on Georgia Southern’s campus. Jasmine Pollard, 22, is from Decatur Georgia and is a senior general studies major with an emphasis in marketing. You might have seen her working in the office of Career Services but you have not truly seen her until you have seen her perform!
Her Campus: What songstress would you say your voice relates to the most?
Jasmine Pollard: I feel like I have a lot of bits and pieces of people that I take from and make it my own. My top people would be Whitney Houston, Gladys Knight, a little bit of Janet Jackson, and Anita Baker. I have an old school feel. Also, I would say Michael Jackson and Usher they are really big inspirations for me.
HC: Who is your favorite performer and why?
JP: Beyoncé! Hands down Beyoncé! Beyoncé is such a hard worker to make sure that when you go to her concert you will never go to someone else’s shows and say, “Oh that concert was just like Beyoncé’s”, because no it was not. She works hard to make herself stand out in the industry and I love that about her.
HC: What is your dream career?
JP: I would definitely be a professional recording artist. One of my ultimate goals in life is to be one of the few people in the history of the world who have won an Oscar, a Grammy, a Tony, and an Emmy all in competitive categories. There are only 11 people who have ever done it, two being African American and only three being female winners. So it would be an amazing accomplishment.
HC: What events are you performing in this semester?
JP: I will be performing in the first Unplugged that will be taking place Sept. 30 at 6:30 p.m. in the Williams Center. I will also be competing in GSU Idol and that is happening Oct 6. I also will perform with Dyverzions at Stomp Fest and Doo-Dah
HC: What organizations are you involved in on campus?
JP: Dyverzions is the only other organization that I am involved in because it is the only other thing I have time for.
HC: What is your greatest life experience thus far?
JP: I would have to say my first greatest life experience would probably be getting to perform behind Usher. Obviously I want to be a singer so getting to perform behind someone who has been in the industry for over 20 years is amazing. My second would be volunteering with Books for Africa. Getting to talk to those people and being able to realize the things we take for granted here in America, especially the access to books. Since I am someone who loves to read and also a female as a child in Africa I would not have access to some of the most basic books. We were able to put together packages to send to the kids over there and to actually meet some of the kids was a great experience.
HC: What are some of your greatest assets and skills?
JP: My empathy, I am a real big people person. I love people. I love meeting new people. I love helping people. Also, my work ethic is a great asset because I work extremely hard. I think that it will help me in the career that I want to go in to. It is important to have a good work ethics especially when you want to inspire people. The last one would be my personality. I am so fun; I am probably six years old at heart. I love to joke around and see people smile.
HC: How was working with Usher’s Foundation? What was your role?
JP: I am still a member of the foundation. I have been a member since about 13 or 14. I did not start off with a specific job; I started off as a camper. Because the organization started off as a two week sleep over camp to teach youth about the sports and entertainment side of the industry, and now it has evolved into this global leadership foundation. Now, I am what we call a Mogul in Training and that is the program for our college youth that focuses on retention, internships, job placement, and career readiness.
HC: What is your advice to the women on campus?
JP: If I could give advice to the women on campus I would tell them to live fearlessly. By that I mean I feel like there are so many women on this campus that don’t realize how amazing they are, there are so many women who do not realize how much they have to offer and I feel like if there were more women who are confident in themselves and their abilities and grabbed opportunities head on I feel like that would be a really good thing for our campus.
HC: If you could be in the recording studio with one artist dead or alive who would it be?
JP: It is a tie between Michael Jackson and Beyoncé
HC: So for the question everyone wants to know: are you single?
JP: I am definitely single. I am not looking but I am open to a relationship. If prince charming walks by I will give him a chance.