Autumn Mays is a 20-year-old rising senior at DePaul University. Born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Autumn grew up with a deep love for the performing arts, especially music. She began her own journey with music at the age of 8 with her participation in Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra’s (MYSO) “Progressions” Program. Spending 10 years in MYSO, she finished the program in their flagship orchestra “Senior Symphony”. Throughout her tenure with MYSO, she was not only molded into a classically trained violinist but was also granted multiple opportunities to develop her musicianship and leadership skills. These opportunities included performing alongside The Piano Guys, Black Violin, composing two orchestral compositions and co-creating the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center Student Advisory Board. Because of these experiences, it further solidified Autumn’s passion for the arts, but also made her further aware of the lack of accessibility for the arts in her community. With a newfound motivation to combat the disparities of arts accessibility, Autumn set her sights on majoring in Performing Arts Management and double minoring in Communication Studies and Business Administration.
As a Performing Arts Management student, Autumn’s coursework focuses on not-for-profit arts administration as well as commercial music management to prepare for the extensiveness of the performing arts industry. With her minors in Communication Studies and Business Administration, she can further develop her communication and entrepreneurship skills to support her knowledge in the performing arts world. To supplement her class and practicum work, Autumn is on the DePaul University School of Music Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Board as the sole student board member to bridge the gap between student and faculty/staff communication and encourage improvements that can be made regarding diversity, equity and inclusion values at the School of Music. Over the course of the summer, she has been interning with Elevated Chicago, a collaborative of residents, organizations, artists, city officials and philanthropists that work to promote equitable community and transit development. As the Arts & Culture intern, Autumn is focused on creating arts and cultural strategies that embody Elevated Chicago’s values, creating spaces for artists in the community and research to create arts resources in the city of Chicago.
In addition to her music and educational endeavors, Autumn’s interest in philanthropy encouraged her to found her own not-for-profit organization NoteWorthy Inc in 2020. As the Founder/CEO, she strives to grant financial resources and musical opportunities to underrepresented youth in her community in hopes of fostering a new generation of performers that will break down stereotypes. Furthermore, she was awarded the 2021 National Philanthropic Youth of Today Award for her work as the first vice-chair of the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center Student Advisory Board.
Autumn is grateful to be receiving the Dr.Terence Thomas Scholarship award for a fourth year as it has been essential to funding her academic career and goals. Currently, she is balancing being a full-time student, not-for-profit founder, musician, and model. After finishing her bachelor’s degree, she plans to either attend graduate school or directly work in both the not-for-profit and commercial sectors of the music industry with the ultimate goal of making music and the performing arts accessible to all.
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