After excelling in the classroom during her first year as a Music Business major at Columbia College Chicago, including achieving a perfect 4.0 GPA, Missouri City, Texas native BelleAime Robinson continues to take a leadership role by being active in making a difference and bringing awareness to the forefront. Recently she was chosen to be on an NBC Global Hangout discussing what changes she would like to see, as well as what she is most hopeful about for the future for her, and other Black kids and teens. (https://twitter.com/CaroMT/status/1275397982595297280)
According to BelleAime, being asked to speak on this topic was empowering.
“It was an honor to be a voice for people who don’t get to have their voices heard. I would never have thought that I would even have the platform to have MY voice heard. As a black woman, I have always been silenced whether I know it or not. So, I knew I had to speak from my heart, my sorrows, my anger, and my knowledge. I still have so much to learn about how I want to transform the world into one that doesn’t kill innocent black people, or has to protest for the right to breathe, or has to live in fear of the ones who are supposed to be protecting us. I am directly impacted by it and I, along with so many other people right now, am on a mission to change the world as we know it.”
Discovering avenues to explore both on-campus and off-campus, is something she made a point of since her arrival in Chicago. Last October, during her second week in her new city, through a Google search she found Guarneri Hall, a non-profit organization that hosts classical music concerts. Attending one of these concerts immediately sparked her interest in being a volunteer, which led to her being offered an internship position that begins this year, as she shared. “Guarneri Hall is implementing a new program targeted towards youth with limited resources. It is going to allow them to discover new creative skills and connect to music in a way they haven’t been given the chance to. I am so happy to be helping with the shaping and start of this program.”
Another passion near and dear to her heart is radio. Not only does she have her own streaming radio station called, “These Songs Could Be About You,” Radio aka TSCBAY Radio, for which the goal is, “To give local/smaller artists a platform to share and talk about their music,” but she also has hosted shows at Columbia College Chicago’s very own, WCRX-FM. During this challenging time in history, she has utilized her platform and enhanced programming by creating unique segments including, “Separated Sounds,” dedicated to the COVID-19 Crisis, as well as signifying and honoring June being Black Music Month which, as she states, “prompted me to research the history of Black and African-American music for certain themes or topics of my show.”
In addition to her classes, upcoming internship, radio show, and further involvement with WCRX-FM, BelleAime can’t contain her excitement for returning to Columbia. “I am just so happy to come back to Chicago and find new opportunities and reignite ones that had to be halted.” She also had valuable advice for students. “Don’t compare your progress to others or even your past self. Take days off. Be very kind and easy on yourself. Breathe. ‘Unclench your jaw.’ Try something new, even if that means ‘something new’ is doing nothing at all. Get rid of something holding you down or back. Also, speak up and use your voice and/or talents for a bigger cause and purpose. Don’t be afraid. Find your own courage and act from the heart. Help yourself so you can then help others.”
You can follow “These Songs Could Be About You” Radio social media links and then find the streaming link in bios:
https://instagram.com/tscbayradio
