A little reflection is always good…
My recognition of the relationship of community and individual empowerment began with my undergraduate experiences. I created my Bachelor Degree with Independent Concentration 
(B.D.I.C.): Performing Arts and Community Development. My studies of the musicology of West African music and its manifestations in the Americas led me to the interrelationship of dance, music, art, history, religion, politics, sociology and cultural anthropology. In 1999 I was privileged to attend School for International Training’s (S.I.T) Culture, Development and Social Justice study abroad program in Fortaleza, Brazil. My intention was to study the music of Afro-Brazilians and the role music and song played in the preservation of cultural traditions. The more time I devoted to studying this, the clearer it became that the path of musical lineage led to the religion Condomble and the underlying multinational African religion Yourba. As a young, white American I found myself beyond my depths. I did not feel I had sufficient background or language proficiency to delve into this complex religion. While reevaluating my focus of study, I was introduced to a musical group that was based in much of the same musical heritage but used the music as a means to combat poverty and homelessness among the youth population in Salvador, Brazil. From 300-700 members, Ile Iye was one of the largest samba schools in Salvador. Their musical purpose was to prepare for Carnival; however, their true mission was as a community association that addressed issues of education, health care and depravation in a country that has significant poverty and a scarcity of social services. This experience was the true embodiment of my degree: performing arts as the catalysis for community and personal improvement. I came to an understanding that oral history and music is a way for communities to celebrate their history and maintain pride and strength, but music can serve a deeper purpose: to serve the needs of an impoverished people and to instigate reform. I realized that similar struggles exist here in the United States. After graduation I seized an opportunity to work as an Americorps* VISTA volunteer in western Massachusetts enabling me to activate my commitment to build community and to encourage individual empowerment.