They did it! Three alumni of our Cypress Hills musical theatre program in Brooklyn graduated from high school this month, making their families and ATG community proud. Nelson, Kristina, and Cathy were among the first students to complete our Audition Prep program four years ago, which helped them earn admission to competitive high schools outside of their neighborhood.

 

Cathy and Kristina both graduated from Talent Unlimited High School as Arista National Honor Society scholars, where they both won TDF Theatre awards; Kristina also won the $5,000 Tony Bennett College Scholarship. Cathy will be attending SUNY-Oswego this fall, while Kristina will be going to Emerson College in Boston.

 

Nelson graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School, and will be traveling to Thailand this summer through the UBS NextGen Leaders program, which provides a comprehensive college success program for young men from under-resourced neighborhoods. In the fall, Nelson will attend NYU.

 

Congratulations to our students for all of their achievements! 

June 3, 2015 marked the 10th anniversary of Arts to Grow! Join us throughout the summer as we celebrate this milestone with a look back at all we've accomplished--and all we have in store for the future. To kick off this series, we sat down with former student Kiana to talk about what she learned through musical theatre. 

For seven years our musical theatre program in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn has been helping middle school students at CHLDC's Community Learning Center develop vital skills such as communication, collaboration, and dedication. This spring, three of our alumni returned to the program to share their experiences with our current students. 

Brooklyn students in our long-running musical theatre program presented "Remember My Name," an adaptation of "Fame: The Musical," this spring as a culmination of our full-year program. As they prepared for the final performance, our students reflected on the skills they'd gained throughout the program.