Dear Wishbone donors,

Being at SOCAPA was truly an experience to remember. I got to learn a ton of things as well as meet a ton of new people over the course of just one week! I remember my first day, it began at the NYU campus in Brooklyn, my borough. I saw so many people, and realized that I was one of the very few students of color. This caused me to build a judgement in my mind that none of those people would be welcoming. That was the worst thing I could have done. I took it upon myself to join them at the table they sat at, and to my surprise, they greeted me before j could even say hello. They seemed really eager to get to know me, and that made me eager to get to know them as well. The classes that I had to attend required me to go to Pace University, and that's where the real fun began. With the help of my teacher, Kelly McRae, I got to learn about different kinds of music such as hip hop and Rnb. After that, everyone in class got to write and perform their own songs, which was truly a blessing because I never wrote a stable song before attending SOCAPA and I never would have thought that I would be able to craft an entire song in a matter of one week only. What helped me was how Kelly told everyone to speak their truth, and even if it may be a love song, as long as it's your truth then it's worth writing a song about. One of my favorite moments was listening to Kelly sing. As a young black woman living in a low income communuty, it was an amazing opportunity to be able to get performances, lessons and musical advice from a real musical artist. I am grateful for everything I got to be apart of in SOCAOA down to watching the three week students perform and getting to perform myself. In SOCAPA, students literally came from all over. I remember one girl came from Hong Kong, which truly gave me insight into real diversity. This is what college could potentially look like for me in terms of student diversity, and I was happy to finally get the chance to experience that, regardless of my financial setbacks and instabilities. I wouldn't get to be apart of this program without you guys. All of you believed in me, and because of you my eyes have been widened and my dreams and expectations for myself have been set higher. Every small accomplishment, every small donation was truly a blessing and I have learned not to let opportunities go to waste. Whatever is out there for me, I must go for it.

Thank you,

Samira Ferron

#stayblessed

Thank you my beautiful donors for contributing to my passion and having belief in my success! Thank you, Wishbone, for giving me a platform to further expand my opportunities with music and my ability to engage in life changing decisions! I plan to make the most out of the program, as well as take with me the drive and the willingness to put myself out there to get recognition and audiences! Also, I'm excited to meet people of different backgrounds and walks of life! Once again, thank you!!