Student Leadership Awards

Through this past year, I have put in many sleepless nights and spent many hours thinking about how my last year at The University of the Arts and last year living in Philadelphia can be successful. How can I give back to the community that has given so much to me? Honestly, I never felt grounded in Philly. I always felt like there were cities that just fit me better as an artist. But instead of dwelling upon that and complaining, I decided to question what were the things that I did not favor of the city. What is it that I would to better the city if I had the chance? That is when I learned the lesson of if you want change to happen, it starts with you. Therefore, I began to organize the first-ever collegiate meet and greet for the Philadelphia area. This took months of planning and braining storming and thinking of ways of making what could be a dull gathering successful and allow people of great minds, some artistically prone versus some ivy league prone, to work together to form a bond, establish connections, and eventually create a plan to make this city better. We had about 75 people in attendance, most of whom I have never met. There were ten school of the surrounding area represented!

We decided that the William Way LGBTQIA Center was a great place to partner with not only for its location right off the Avenue of the Arts downtown, but also because it is the center of the community, it is some people’s home away from home. Most of these people have never walked into the center’s doors in the lives. Not only did we get the president of university to speak (a million thank-yous to the ever supportive Sean Buffington), but we had representatives from various LBGT organizations around the area. We showcased our school by a dance showcase and a musical piece of  “I Am What I Am.” With the help of the office of student life, we were able to have a fun and engaging event that turned out to win the student event of the year at the Student Leadership Awards!