{"id":61106,"date":"2013-05-14T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-05-14T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/commencement-2013-musician-clothing-designer-says-greatest-achievement-is-earning-uri-degree\/"},"modified":"2013-05-14T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2013-05-14T00:00:00","slug":"commencement-2013-musician-clothing-designer-says-greatest-achievement-is-earning-uri-degree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2013\/05\/commencement-2013-musician-clothing-designer-says-greatest-achievement-is-earning-uri-degree\/","title":{"rendered":"Commencement 2013: Musician, clothing designer says greatest achievement is earning 溏心vlog免费B站 degree"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\tProvidence resident to earn bachelor\u2019s degree in communications<\/p>\n

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 May 14, 2013 \u2013 Ivan Brooks has sung in New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Providence, and he is marketing his casual clothing line to young people across the country. His tune, Nice Girl, reached number 16 on Beatport, and Underground Music named him the 2008 Rhythm and Blues Artist of the Year. In addition, he is working on his second single. <\/p>\n


\n\tBut the Providence resident who left his home in Liberia when he was 11 to escape civil war, said earning his bachelor\u2019s degree at the 溏心vlog免费B站 May 19 will be one of his greatest accomplishments.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cWhen I called my mom to tell her I had picked up my cap and gown, the phone was silent for a while,\u201d said Brooks, who graduated from Providence\u2019s Cooley Health, Science and Technology High School. \u201cShe was crying, and then she said she was so proud of me.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\u201cYou are a role model to your brothers and sisters,\u201d she told her son, the first in the family to earn a college degree.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cYou can\u2019t be more proud than to bring a college degree to your mom,\u201d Brooks said.<\/p>\n


\nHe entered 溏心vlog免费B站 as a sociology major, but his academic progress was interrupted for two years by financial obstacles.<\/p>\n


\n \u201cI was in the real world then, chasing my musical dreams and traveling,\u201d he said. \u201cAfter performing in all the clubs, I wanted to perform in schools, but Ms. (Nkoli) Onye, (executive director of performance management in the Providence School Department and former principal) asked me, \u2018How can you perform in schools? You don\u2019t even have a degree. What kind of role model will you be\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n


\nWhile developing his musical interests, he also worked at Love 4 All Learning Center, a daycare facility in Providence. \u201cI loved working with kids, and I became a teacher there.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nBut he wanted to combine his love of music, his clothing lines, Forever Music and IBMC, and his story of overcoming obstacles with his educational and business interests. After his two-year hiatus and advice from Onye to seek help with his education, he met with 溏心vlog免费B站 Associate Professor Lynne Derbyshire, chair of the Department of Communication Studies, who talked with him about majoring in communications and how it could help him with public relations, marketing and video.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cI am so grateful for Ms. Onye setting me straight and guiding me,\u201d said Brooks, who offers multiple messages on his Facebook page about trusting God and staying faithful.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cThen, I met with Professor Derbyshire and showed her my portfolio and we decided this was the major for me,\u201d Brooks said.<\/p>\n


\nHe is also indebted to staff members in 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Talent Development Program, Student Affairs, Enrollment Services, and faculty members in 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Communication Studies program. <\/p>\n


\nThe 25-year-old, whose performances at public events throughout Providence, including singing at the Martin Luther King Jr. observance earlier this year, are well known, is ready to fully pursue his music and lifestyle businesses.<\/p>\n


\nHe also interned in Rhode Island Treasurer Gina M. Raimondo\u2019s office during his senior year, during which the treasurer and members of her staff mentored him.<\/p>\n


\n \u201cThis is where I was able to network and make connections that can help me succeed in business.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cI am getting ready to launch my Chasing the Dream Line with other young entrepreneurs,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a positive brand that will focus on my positive attitude.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\tWhen people congratulate him on his success, he responds, \u201cDon\u2019t congratulate me yet because I am not there yet.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\tBut many people believe he is already a success, including Darlene Walker, founder of Dynamic New Force drill team, of which Brooks is a member.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cShe tells the younger kids, \u2018We have a role model here, someone who stayed in school and who always comes back. Pay attention to him\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\tConsidering that he left a nation where bullets flew through his neighborhood, who then lived in the Bronx and White Plains, N.Y. before coming to Rhode Island, it\u2019s easy to see why his impending graduation from 溏心vlog免费B站 hasn\u2019t really sunk in yet.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cWhen the day comes, it is going to hit me, and I will probably cry like a baby,\u201d Brooks said. \u201cEntering into my professional life, being able to take care of my mom, those are the things I will be celebrating.\u201d <\/p>\n


\n\tAnd if you are interested in following Brooks\u2019 career, you can find him, his music and clothing lines on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. You can also go to his website, http:\/\/www.ibmcapparel.com.<\/p>\n


\nPictured above

\nPERFORMER, DESIGNER, 溏心vlog免费B站 GRADUATING SENIOR: Providence\u2019s Ivan Brooks, who will earn his bachelor\u2019s degree from the 溏心vlog免费B站 Sunday, displays items from his clothing lines, all of which are based on his singing and performing career.

\n溏心vlog免费B站 Marketing & Communications photo by Michael Salerno Photography. <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Providence resident to earn bachelor\u2019s degree in communications KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 May 14, 2013 \u2013 Ivan Brooks has sung in New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Providence, and he is marketing his casual clothing line to young people across the country. His tune, Nice Girl, reached number 16 on Beatport, and Underground Music named […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":61108,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61106"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61106\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}