Nia Ashleigh Harris- The 2018 Governor’s Award for Excellence in Music

My Name is Nia Ashleigh and I am a senior at Saint Vincent Academy. At nine years old I booked the role of Young Nala in Disney’s The Lion King in the Las Vegas and Broadway cast. Since then I have performed at some of the biggest stages in the tri-state area. Building a career while maintaining a good education became my lifestyle throughout high school. I am not the perfect student with straight A’s and Distinction Honor Roll. However, I am not a slacker. Through all of my crazy schedules and performances, I still maintain a 3.4-grade point average and earned a spot in the National Honors Society. I managed to do this and build my success story as a performer at the same time. I am a three-time National YoungArts Foundation winner in Popular Voice and Jazz Voice. Now my focus is to go to a college that gives me the tools to be a multifaceted artist. My future plan is to build my own brand as a performer and build an artist collective where women can have a platform to work together to cultivate their sounds and do so fearlessly.