Arts Schools Allows Student To Pursue Passion

Mason grew up in Springfield. As a child he was always singing. He was a good student and was involved in sports and school activities. He was in music classes at school and really enjoyed them but didn’t see music as a big part of his life.

When Mason attended Reed Academy for middle school, he participated in a choral program that partners with Missouri State. During that program, his enjoyment of music grew into something stronger.

In high school, Mason took all the music classes he could. He loved singing and was also learning to play an instrument. Mason came from a stable household, but his family didn’t have money for him to take private lessons. One of his music teachers told him about Missouri State’s Community Arts School.

The Community Arts School is run by a faculty member in the Reynolds College of Arts and Letters whose workload includes 70% “traditional” faculty roles and 30% running the school. MSU arts students are paid to work in the school and provide free music lessons and arts classes to low-income students in the area. In their senior year, the students can get free, dual credit through the university.

Mason took vocal and instrumental lessons. In his senior year, he earned six hours of college credit. The experience he had with Missouri State students convinced him that it was a great college for him.

Mason applied for and was awarded a music scholarship to attend the university. He’s now a junior at the university and is working at the Community Arts School.