Senior Dahmonni Allen attended Seattle Black College Expo on Nov. 4 at Rainier Beach High School and received an offer from University of Arkansas Pine Bluff. They offered him a $50K full ride scholarship for him to attend their school and major in music production and audio engineering.
Allen wants to major in these two areas so that he can start a career in music and hopefully make it big. The scholarship offer surprised him.
Allen’s progression with his music and drumming began with banging on pots and pans as a kid to now making music in his free time.
It’s “always been in my blood,” Allen said.
Although he was grateful to be offered the opportunity, he may not take the scholarship. There are multiple schools Allen has looked at and is interested in.
“If it comes down to money, I’d pick Arkansas,” Allen said.
Allen has been accepted into a few other schools, including Full Sail University in Orlando, Florida, Berklee College of Music in New York, and Portland State University in Portland, Oregon.
Allen has felt pressure from not only his friends and family, but also his teachers. He’s been told if “you got a scholarship, that should be your first choice,” Allen said.
There are other things Allen is considering than the scholarship alone, such as people, the environment, distance from home and the quality of the programs.
Currently, Allen produces R&B and Hip Hop music. He has not released many songs yet, but people can find snippets of songs on his Instagram @monni2trnt. He says when he releases the songs, he will put them on Spotify and Apple music with the name ykDxhmoneyy. Follow him and keep an eye out for his music.
