Through Music and Mentorship, This Program Is Changing Lives One Note at a Time – CUNYverse

Through Music and Mentorship, This Program Is Changing Lives One Note at a Time – CUNYverse


Pictured above: student Mya Khan and student Liana Ekmen

For the last three years, Central Park East High School senior Mya Khan has been taking free private singing lessons through a program that pairs underserved students with college-age volunteer music mentors. The program, known as Musical Empowerment, currently has seven chapters throughout the United States, including one at Hunter College. They currently have more than 30 students learning voice, French horn, piano and violin. 

“The best part of this program is being able to express my musical passions because there are no music classes [at my] school,” explained Khan, who will attend Baruch College in the fall. She worked with Sumaita Hasan, a graduate of Macaulay Honors at Hunter College, and was surprised to discover she was a soprano, increasing her vocal range over time. “The program gave me the chance to pursue my passion and learn more about what I can do and how to improve on what I can do.” 

“The program gave me the chance to pursue my passion and learn more about what I can do and how to improve on what I can do.” 

According to its website, Musical Empowerment works to “create equitable access to music education by pairing children with college mentors to inspire resilience and confidence” by forming nearly 300 student-mentor pairs each year. The program also loans free instruments to each student, and the student owns the instrument after three years of participating. 

In 2020, Macaulay Honors at City College graduate Yaas Azmoudeh started a chapter at CUNY –– the first one in New York — when she saw that one of her friends was a mentor at a different college. Since this mentorship program began at Hunter under faculty advisor Ashley Jackson, about eight students have graduated from the program. They often start in ninth or tenth grade so the mentorship can span several years.

“The overall goal is to have the pair be together for as long as possible because they’re able to actually form a bond. There’s research that shows that a mentor really becomes a mentor after three years of a relationship. That’s why the limit is that on keeping the instrument too,” said Azmoudeh. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs, a large body of research shows that students who are in mentor relationships experience many benefits, including performing better academically, showing more positive attitudes towards school and being less likely to initiate drug and alcohol use; high school students are also more likely to graduate and less likely to drop out. 

Students also find that the Musical Empowerment program helps build their self-esteem. “[They’re] learning [and] realizing the concept of practicing, the discipline of continuously working on something and achieving the goal and also the confidence boost that it gives,” Azmoudeh said. 

Focus On Connection, Not Perfection

After students list their instrument preferences, mentors are assigned one student and give weekly 30-minute lessons either on Zoom or in person. Once students are paired with mentors, it’s up to the mentor to decide the rehearsal timing and logistics. “I would meet [my student] for [around] 45 minutes a week, and then I’d also send him things during the week so we would stay in contact,” explained Azmoudeh. 

While the student does learn to play an instrument, the focus is not on gaining perfect playing skills, but rather allowing the student to connect with the mentor. “Sometimes, [my student and I] didn’t even play music. We just talked about college and life. I love teaching, not to teach, but to get to know the student and learn about their life,” said Hunter College Musical Empowerment Co-President Angela Sanchez. Azmoudeh described how she would help her mentee with college applications or chemistry homework. “We had a relationship outside of music. [My student] felt like he could ask me for help just because I feel like I was someone who he aspired to be,” she said.

The fairly narrow age gap can also work in the high school students’ favor. “A lot of these students aren’t so much younger than the mentors. And it can be really nice to feel like you have someone who is a little bit more in touch with the things that you might be going through,” said Lizzie Bianco, who is Sanchez’s co-president at the Hunter chapter.

The Hunter chapter is currently looking for more mentors; any CUNY student can volunteer by filling out this short form though they must pick Hunter College as the specific school affiliate. “We have so many students that want to learn, and if you want to teach or if you need community service hours, it’s a win-win for everybody. You are giving the gift of music. That’s something that has no price tag. All we need is your time and your talents,” said Sanchez.

Mentors need only three years of experience with the instrument they play, but they don’t require formal teaching experience; after they’re accepted, they take a 60-minute Zoom teacher training course. They can also ask for guidance from program leaders at any time. Bianco’s first time teaching a musical instrument was with Musical Empowerment. “It was definitely challenging, but I’m grateful for it,” she said. 

 Being part of a creative program and sharing the gift of music became something Sanchez looked forward to every week. She hopes the program will expand to every CUNY campus. “I feel like people get discouraged because of teaching. I know I got discouraged, and I was like, ‘I don’t know if I’d be a great teacher.’ But I know I am a good mentor. I know I’m a good listener, and I know that I made some kind of impact. I just wanted to change one life, and I think that I did,” she said. “For me, theater and music were the only things that really saved me. As a child of immigrant parents and being a first-generation student, I just didn’t have a lot of guidance, but with music and with theater, I found [a] community, home and purpose,” she added.

“I just wanted to change one life, and I think that I did.”

For those considering getting involved, Bianco had some advice “You have absolutely nothing to lose, only everything to gain. Even if you have the most vague interest in an instrument or in being a teacher – go for it because I think that it will be one of the most rewarding experiences you will have in your young adult life.”

Khan shared the same sentiment for fellow high school students. “If you have a passion for music, join the program, even if you’re the only one. Your passion shouldn’t be pushed to the back of your mind. It should be something that you want to do all the time. And just because there’s no opportunity in one place doesn’t mean you can’t find it in another. If an opportunity exists, jump on it.” 

For more information about the program,  email hc@musical-empowerment.org.



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