ArtSmart, the nonprofit that started in Philadelphia and has since expanded to other U.S. cities, helps kids hone their musical talents by offering one-on-one, tuition-free music lessons, writes Buffy Gorrilla for NPR.

One of the participants in the program is Journae Barnes. Barnes was a freshman at Franklin Learning Center in 2020, when all her classes were moved online, including choir. It was hard to stay excited about anything school-related until she saw a post from her choir teacher that encouraged students to audition for the ArtSmart program.

“And I actually just took the chance and followed through with it,” said Barnes.

She submitted a video that was reviewed by Lucas DeJesus, an ArtSmart mentor, who could see Barnes’ passion and admired her authenticity.

Barnes received a spot on the program and got paired with DeJesus.

“I kind of just hoped to have someone who was really passionate about what they were doing and someone that was willing to meet me where I was at,” said Barnes.

Being a part of the program helped Barnes decide to go to Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she hopes to use her voice as a tool and teach others.

Read more about ArtSmart at NPR.

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