Imagine a world where melodies narrate stories, where every chord strummed voiced a symphony of unity, and creativity is the forefront of a limitless mindset. That’s a world where music isn’t just a sound but a language that connects hearts and bridges gaps. From humble beginnings, I want to show you my journey to higher education as well as the Inspiration and drive that got me here. Growing up in the church, music wasn’t just a soundtrack; it was a lifeline. My father provided me with amazing taste in music, from reggae to jazz. It was in those moments that I was introduced to the wonderful world of sound. I’ve always known that I wanted to be a part of it and I’ve always told myself I was going to be a part of it. At the age of five, I began playing the drums, but I soon realized that the rhythm of my heart was leading me in a different direction. I found where I was heading when I stumbled upon John Meyer. His guitar skills and ability to tell a story through a guitar marked the beginning of my love for the instruments and all instruments to come. From Eric Clapton’s timeless chords to Jimi Hendrix's tunes, each note was fuel to becoming a better musician. At twelve, my passion for music bloomed and being armed with determination and a full resource of Youtube tutorials, I took to the stars and started my self-taught journey. I found true joy within the creative process. From chords, scales, and anything I could get my hands on, I found myself lost for hours honing my technical skills. It wasn’t just the skills I learned that made me outgoing and dedicated, but the lessons in communication, creativity, and resilience. In music, I realized that it was a team sport. Effective communication is the key to success in the industry because it’s more than just words or playing the notes right; It’s about shared visions, collaborations, and bringing those to life. It taught me that every note played in sync is the key to creating a masterpiece. In the end, becoming a music producer requires many qualities such as communication and technical skills, being diverse in many areas, and mastering an instrument of your choosing. Being Diverse in many genres and styles was important to me to becoming a versatile musician and producer. Boundaries didn’t exist because I wanted to make music along the lines of “what music couldn’t do” instead of “what it could.” In order to do this, I focused on precision and mastery of an instrument I loved wholeheartedly which was guitar. The guitar’s ability to be flexible and set the mood for any situation that’s called for. In between all of this, I never forget about the importance of fun. I wouldn’t want to put myself through the loss of doing something that doesn’t bring me joy than fighting for something that I love to do and can do for the rest of my life.

Throughout my life, I’ve heard these words go around: “It’s the little things that count.” To be candid, until last year, I didn't really resonate with that until now. Initially, I believed that by doing these small acts, I might be recognized for them which could lead me to bigger opportunities. However, this wasn’t the case in my situation. It was this realization that challenged my perspective on the significance of small acts both on the ends of the giver and the receiver. As a self-taught musician and music producer, everything I know has either been learned from online resources and the guidance of friends. From growing up in the church, I was able to explore many instruments and styles, which made the foundation that I have today. For quite some time, I contributed to the music community by transcribing music for people. While these tasks were small, the joy expressed by the people when they could learn a song through the sheet music I provided outweighed any accolade I could receive. In church, music wasn't just a soundtrack; it was a lifeline. It was in those moments that I was introduced to the wonderful world of sound. I've always known that I wanted to be a part of it and I've always told myself that I was going to be a part of it. The goal is to have my work featured in multiple entertainment streams such as films, commercials, and featured with Tech companies. My ultimate dream? To build myself a well rounded career which I can use to give back to the music community. For quite some time, I've transcribed and made music for other people, but through that I've also seen issues and needs of the people is the music community. A few examples would be: 1. An app that specifically made for moods. The song recommendation and/or playlist would change based on the users' feelings 2. A Song Trivia app specifically for musicians who want to work on their ear training. They can either guess the key, chords, or type of chords within that song. There are many more, but to put together a team of well-rounded like-minded people to give back to the music community is a milestone I hope to achieve. In the end, it's something I want to pursue because it brings me joy. It is something that makes me smiles and happy at the end of day. To have fun with what I want to pursue keeps my passion of music production and creativity burning bright. To not have fun while doing something you love is like composing a symphony without a melody, painting a canvas without color, or writing a story without passion. In pursuit of a higher education, I hope to use this opportunity to push myself harder creatively and academically. I'm open to learning new things, meeting new people, taking advice, and more importantly, having fun as I go. As I continue on this path, my dedication to doing just that is by refining my skills, embracing the challenges, and turning my creative dreams into a reality.

“What is risk…if that risk isn’t taken?” - Rachel Cherubin Those words have been my daily motivation to keep me going through every moment of life. Those same words have created a spark that has been burning for years on a journey toward Full Sail University. Over the years, my passion for music has grown and is still growing, exploring various instruments and styles, and I’m beyond thrilled to embark on the next chapter of my life at Full Sail. Growing up in the church, music has always been an essential part of my life. My father provided me with amazing taste in music, from reggae to jazz and instrumental melodies. I was introduced to the wonderful world of sound. Growing up, I was fascinated by the magic of music creation, and I knew deep down that I wanted to be a part of it, and I was going to be a part of it. My initial start into the music community started at the age of five when I began playing drums at church. It was fun at the start, but I soon realized the rhythm of my heart was leading me to a different direction. That direction came when I stumbled upon the music of John meyer. His guitar skills and soulful lyrics drew me in, especially the songs “Dancing in a Burning Room” and “Neon.” The guitar’s ability to tell a story through the musician and dynamics used marked the beginning of my love for the instruments and all instruments to come! Over the years, I dived into the world of guitar playing, looking for inspiration from legendary musicians like Ozzy Osbourne, Eric Clapton, and Jimi Hendrix. My dream of creating music from my guitar(maybe even a signature) that resonated with the world, fueled my determination to keep pushing on. Not long after, my twin brother got into classical guitar which interested me further. Finally, at the age of 12, I started my self-taught guitarist journey, exploring the basics and immersing myself full-time in music theory, scale, and modes. At 13, I began playing guitar for my church’s youth group, where I discovered the number system and many more details on music theory. I longed to compose and produce my music but wasn’t sure of the direction I wanted to take. Nonetheless, I dabbled in songwriting and shared my compositions with online music communities for feedback. At 14, I decided “Enough was Enough,” I was going to produce my music, so using a guitar and ukulele I had at home, I got to writing. Once we could meet again, my friends and I wrote five worship songs, three of which were produced within two weeks– an achievement I hold close to my heart and will remember forever. Two years later, Justin Amundrud, an accomplished music producer, was introduced by my church as a new staff member. That day marked a moment for me to learn from someone in the industry. Justin’s guidance expanded my knowledge of digital audio workstations (DAW) like Ableton, plugins, EQ, and Logic. Moreover, I can reflect on the many inspirations that have shaped me—-individuals like Tobias Rauscher, Sungha Jung, Jake Shimbakuro, Julian Lage and Joshua Meader. Their unique styles have broadened my musical taste and my playing style, as well as what I look for in my music, and how I want it to sound. I embrace the messiness, the challenges, the uncertainties, and endless possibilities because, as Ellen Johnson Sirleaf wisely said, “If your dreams don’t scare you, they’re not big enough.”

My name is Rachel Cherubin! I am a high school junior who is looking forward to going to school for music production/ music composition. I've always loved to make music for fun and for others as entertainment but as I've gotten older, I started to realize that I wanted to make music for a purpose. To have a purpose not only for me but for others as well. Recently, in the last couple of months, starting in November of 2022, I had gotten together with two good friends of mine who started to write worship music for our youth group. At first, we were looking forward to just writing a couple of songs and debuting them and that would be that. Then one day, we all kind of got together and thought about why we were creating music and what we wanted to say by releasing this music. This generation put into perspective what we're striving and hoping for this coming year, which is a Revival of Faith, an uproar of a yearning for God. That message had never been more prominent than ever, especially since the Asbury Revival in Kentucky. To give a little background, the Revival at Asbury University started with just a few students who want to worship a little longer after chapel. Which seems like something so simple it turned into something out of this world because people wanted to be in the presence of God and move with the Holy Spirit. This Revival went from tens to hundreds, to thousands from around the world all to just worship. We don't want this revival to just happen in Asbsury University, but all over. We want the Holy Spirit to move throughout and it can but only if you (as a recipient) are willing to receive and be open. We ultimately decided that the music we are going to make wouldn't be based on what was popular or what people wanted, but on what people needed. Which is music centered toward mental health and self-awareness but instead of it being towards you trying to help yourself and depending on others, but looks towards God and gives Him all of your worries, doubt, and fears. To just let go. Whether you were Christian or not, we want to make music that's open to everyone and make music that tailors towards just a relationship that can only be formed with you and God. A relationship that is waiting for when you are ready because God is reaching out for you, He has always been, and now He's just waiting for you to reach back. More recently, we've been working alongside our church to help put out new music to our congregation that focuses on a New Heart. Through this, we hope to reach many teenagers apart of Gen Z by not only trying to form a relationship with God but to form a community with those around them as well.