Our Campus Celebrity of the week is a marvel to behold. A math-wiz who can sing, his enthusiasm for life is contagious! Meet our Campus Celebrity Gabriel Reilly!
To start with, Gabriel is a proud member of Coralia, one of the best concert choirs in Puerto Rico. “I joined last year,” he said, “I didn’t sing when I studied in MIT, but once I moved back home I joined the Polytechnic University choir and that’s when I knew I had a talent for singing. Then when I transferred to the UPR someone told me to audition for a bass position in Coralia, since they had an open spot.”
Seeing his potential, it’s no surprise they chose him. And performing with them still brings him to tears. “It’s so hard to explain the feeling of singing with other people,” he explained. “My hair stands on end. If everyone just sang together we would have less problems in this world. When you sing together, it’s a universal experience.”
Universal experience, indeed. Their most recent show in the UPR, performing songs from the Disney franchise, brought tears and joy to everyone on stage and in the audience. Soon they’ll be traveling to Cuba to perform in October and France in the summer to sing in various towns and cities. “It’s such an honor and I’m so grateful to be a part of it.”
But he doesn’t stop there. Not only does he love to spread a little bit of joy to the world, he’s determined to spread better ideas with his voice, as well. By recently becoming one of the leaders of the TEDxUPR Speaker Search committee, a nonprofit organization focused on spreading good ideas and turning them into reality, he’s ready to help spread amazing ideas that will help the world.
He’s also the founder of Changos de IUPI. “One day, I’m just sitting down in Naturales and thinking, ‘there’s all sort of animals in the UPR. Why don’t they make a page for changos? Wait, I could make a page for changos!” It started with only 30 likes, but after Perros de la IUPI shared their page, it’s popularity increased tenfold by getting more than 180 likes in just one day. With ridiculous captions and a growing fanbase who send photos, Gabriel can only call it a happy accident.
But with Coralia rehearsals, 6 classes, a leader of the TEDxUPR, and managing a popular Facebook page, how does he manage to keep it all together?
“I need to be passionate about what I do else I just don’t do it,” he explained. “I love meeting people, and there’s so much more to learn. One of my mottos is that the only way to expand your comfort zone is to get out of it.”