Apex teen's dream comes true with 'rare' scholarship to prestigious Berklee College of Music – ABC11
APEX, N.C. (WTVD) — Dreams really do come true, and one Apex teenager knows it all too well. It all started with an audition followed by an acceptance letter.
The one thing missing was money to pay for the prestigious Berklee College of Music. In the final hours, the money came as a complete surprise, and this weekend the journey begins for a Triangle vocalist.
Alondra Azcona told ABC11, "I've been performing since I was little."
If you pick an instrument, chances are Alondra can play it.
"My main instrument is the guitar, but I also play a little bit of the keys and ukulele. And I sing."
The music gene runs deep in the Azcona family. Alondra's mom, Mairym Azcona, said all six of her children have been singing and playing instruments since they were very young. One of her kids was a young standout.
Mairym remembers "she was only 3 years old singing the national anthem at this event."
Now 18 years old, Alondra credits her parents for her penchant for performing.
"My mom is a professional singer, and my dad has worked in the music scene in the Dominican Republic," she said.
Melanie Doerner knows the entire family but remembers meeting Alondra when she was around 7 years old.
"She has been one of our advanced students here at Community Music School, where she really excelled in her music progression and took on leadership roles," Doerner recalled.
Alondra attended Community Music School in Raleigh through Berklee City Music — a nonprofit program offering music education to students from undersourced communities. It also offers a pipeline to the prestigious music college in Boston.
"Berklee has been my dream school since I was in middle school. I've always wanted to be a singer," Alondra said.
So, she applied to the private music college and got accepted.
"This is a big deal. And Alondra has been working her butt off since she stepped in the studio and since she held a microphone," Doerner said about her student being accepted.
But there was one problem: Alondra knew she couldn't afford it. The school's website lists tuition alone as $52,440 for an academic year.
"I don't want to go into debt. I don't want to take out a loan. I'll just take a gap year, and I will work," Alondra said.
But checking her email changed everything.
"So, I check my email and it's like, 'Alondra, you have received a scholarship.' And I was like, this is not real. This can not be real," she said. "So, I immediately screenshot it. I take it to my mom, and my mom is freaking out. Everyone is freaking out. I'm telling everybody, my aunts, my cousins, my friends, my directors."
Her teacher called it "a rare, rare achievement."
Her mother said, "The fact that she's going to be able to go to Berklee and not have that burden of the cost being a barrier is just such a blessing."
It's a blessing that has the entire family singing Alondra's praises.
