Lama El Homaissi is an incredibly talented 25-year-old from Lebanon. She was just accepted into the Musical Theatre at Berklee’s School of Music at The Boston Conservatory. Before we tell you her story, you should hear her sing: Isn’t her voice incredibly beautiful?! Well, that’s why one of the top music and performing arts schools in the United States accepted her! It has been Lama’s dream to pursue a career as a musical theatre performer. Unfortunately, since Lebanon doesn’t have this as a field of study, she decided she’d try to pursue it the U.S. Her long-term plan is to bring this art form to Lebanon so that others have the chance to pursue their dream like her.
So why does she need your help?
Despite being awarded a merit-based scholarship worth $26,000, Lama still has to cover the vast majority of the costs – which amount to $150,000 (USD). Since she’s an international student, she not eligible for any additional aid since it’s reserved for Americans and legal US residents. The cost of her tuition alone, minus her scholarship, is $78,780. In order to receive a Student Visa, she needs to prove that she has enough funds to cover the costs for at least the first year. Without this visa, she won’t be able to attend the program. Lama has been working full time to save up. She’s also applied to all the scholarships, grants and loans that she’s eligible for. She also plans to work on campus. However, despite all this, she only able to cover a portion of her costs. She refuses to give up on her dream, so she started a
with a goal to raise $80,000. In just 3 days, she managed to raise almost $3000 from 36 generous donors!
Her accomplishments so far:
- She holds a B.A. in audiovisual studies from L’Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts (ALBA).
- Been working in TV for 5 years with the teams of Sony Pictures Television Arabia and Talpa Middle East behind the hit shows The Voice and The Voice Kids.
- Regularly taken singing lessons since 2015.
- Awarded an 80% scholarship to the Broadway Dreams Foundation’s musical theatre intensive in NYC in 2016 – had the opportunity to train with Broadway’s leading professionals
- Selected among the 8% of their 900 students from all over the world to perform at their yearly talent showcase at Lincoln Center
- Later, selected among the 20 selected to sing as part of the choir at the Broadway Dreams Foundation “Night of Dreams” gala, honoring the legendary Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty.
- on NYU Steinhardt’s wait list for their M.M. in Vocal Performance: Music Theatre.
- Accepted into Circle in the Square Theatre School’s 2-year professional musical theatre training program.
- And the New York Film Academy’s 1-year musical theatre conservatory.
Her final notes:
“I want to say that it is very hard for me to ask for financial support, especially knowing that there are people in this world that need it so much more than I do. But I would love a chance at this dream of mine, and I wanted to let you know how important it is for me that I get to pursue this. Any help is much appreciated, even if it’s just spreading the word! I hope I get a chance to make you proud. :)”
