Alicia Kingsberry

Alicia Kingsberry is a 19-year-old sophomore at Purdue University Fort Wayne. Her major is Music Industry with a minor in Business and her anticipated graduation year is 2025. She would like to become a musician professionally, but she also thinks it is important to understand the business side of things. She has always had an interest in music, even as a baby. “One of the things that my grandma used to tell me was, as a baby I used to hum, like if I was crying, I would hum and soothe myself,” Alicia said. Growing up, Alicia would put on singing shows for her family at home, sing in the church choir, and was part of her school orchestra. Music has always been such a huge part of her life.

An Indiana native, Alicia grew up in Gary and moved to Indianapolis when she was eight. Alicia describes her childhood home in Gary as “peaceful in a neighborhood of chaos.” Despite all the crime and violence that surrounded her grandma’s home, her grandma liked to keep their home as a fortress of peace and love. “It was very lively, and my grandma always had so many flowers,” Alicia explained. Growing up, she moved around quite a bit with her mom in Northwest Indiana until they settled down in Indianapolis. Her mom is currently employed by the government.

Besides her responsibilities with school, she also has an on-campus job as a house manager for music events, a wonderful job that exposes her to the business of music and helps pay for her schooling. She also considers herself as a mentor figure to her siblings, being the second eldest in a group of nine. Since the pandemic started, Alicia has been spending a lot of her time building her faith. “I am a more positive person and I see the good in people now. And no matter what situation I am going through, I have faith to know that I will make it out because of Christ,” Alicia explained.

Alicia has been working with her Persistence Pays Off case manager from Lutheran Social Services on choosing the right major between music therapy and music industry, along with keeping up on her health and being consistent in her schoolwork. Before the Persistence Pays Off program, she felt lost and like she was not yet ready for the real world. She struggled with procrastination in her schoolwork and felt that the transition from high school to college was getting to be too difficult. When Persistence Pays Off came into her life, she felt like she got a “family away from home” that helped to transition her to a successful college life. She refers to the Persistence Pays Off program as a “resource for knowledge and compassion” and explains that she has “the emotional stability now to keep driving forward and the study skills to do so. I look forward to my meetings with my caseworker as she helps keep me accountable to the goals to which I am striving.”

After graduation, Alicia dreams of moving down south to either Nashville or Texas to pursue her Christian music career. She wants to connect with other artists and producers, network, and she hopes that when she graduates, she will have an internship or job lined up. Her hope is to create music that will affect people positively, she explains: “I want to create a sound that my generation will love but also lyrics to bring them positivity, peace, and to bring them closer to Christ.”