Listening Between the Notes

Listening Between the Notes:                                                   

How Caleia Found New Ways to Create

What if a song could be turned into a poem?

For Caleia, that question opened the door to a whole new way of thinking about music.

As a 2026 SOUNDS Academy Fellow, Caleia spent part of her summer taking courses through Maricopa Community College. She enrolled in English 102 and a course on Gender and Society. These classes challenged her academically while helping her develop leadership and creative skills for the future.

Perhaps most exciting, Caleia took what she learned and brought it back to music.

Learning to Take the Lead

Caleia has already acquired 47 college credits. She plans to enroll in another twelve this year—four college classes in addition to high school—so she can finish her associate’s degree when she graduates.

Earning college credit now is more than simply adding another accomplishment to her résumé. Caleia said, “I’ll already have experience with college-level courses when I go to a four-year university.”

Her classes also strengthened a skill that can’t be learned from a textbook alone. The courses were online, so Caleia had to manage her own schedule and hold herself accountable. English 102 required a weekly paper, while her Gender and Society class had daily assignments.

It wasn’t easy to stay on top of everything, but “it was definitely not as scary as I imagined it’d be,” she said. Her strategy was simple: make progress every day and don’t let the work pile up. That is a practical lesson in leadership.

“I persevered through everything and kept the same level of dedication in my classes from the beginning to the end,” she said. “It took leadership to log into courses every day and complete assignments on time, to the best of my ability.”

For Caleia, leadership wasn’t about standing in front of a group or telling others what to do. It was about showing up, taking responsibility, and following through.

From Visual Art to Music

Academic work wasn’t the only way Caleia expanded her thinking this summer.    She also explored ekphrastic writing, a form of creative writing inspired by art.

Caleia first learned about the concept in 2025 during her Summer@Brown experience at Brown University, where she visited the Rhode Island School of Design and explored how visual art could inspire writing. Now, she’s bringing that idea to music and will teach it to other students in SOUNDS Academy.

“We’ll write poems on music,” she explains. “Instead of physical descriptions of art, we’ll write about the tone or tempo of a song”

This idea combines Caleia’s interests in writing and music and gives other students a way to explore both. She’s excited to share it.

Making the Most of Every Opportunity

Caleia’s summer didn’t unfold exactly as planned. She had originally hoped to travel to Greece, but that trip fell through. Her story is especially meaningful because she was resilient in the face of disappointment and found another way to spend her summer learning, growing, and exploring new ideas.

Throughout her experience, Caleia put SOUNDS Academy’s character values into practice. Perseverance, resilience, and leadership weren’t simply ideas discussed in a classroom; they were part of her daily routine.

She had to keep going when the workload was demanding, stay committed from the beginning of each course to the end, and stay positive when plans changed. Now, she’s ready to take those lessons forward.

The SOUNDS Academy Fellowship gives students opportunities to explore interests, pursue challenging experiences, and discover their capabilities. But the impact doesn’t stop with the student who receives the opportunity. Caleia has already considered how she’ll bring what she’s learned back to her peers.

She’s preparing for her next chapter and finding new ways to create and lead.

Maybe soon, we’ll be reading a poem written about a song.

Today’s Musician. Tomorrow’s Creative Writer.

Congratulations Caleia!