Kennedy Heath, a member of the NAACP Gary branch, recently placed third in vocal classical performance at the national NAACP Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics competition.
The competition is first held at the local level, and then those who win gold medals advance to the national competition, Heath said. The competitions, open to high school students, have 30 categories ranging from business, STEM and the arts, she said.
In addition to her third-place finish, Heath was one of 40 girls to receive a $10,000 Lancome Write Your Future Scholarship, which is one of the scholarships available to Black students and students of color through the NAACP Inspire Initiative.
“I am grateful for the support of the Gary NAACP and the opportunities they provide for young artists like myself. Winning third place in the ACT-SO competition and receiving the Write Your Future scholarship are dreams come true for me,” Heath said.
At the ACT-SO competition, which was held in Las Vegas earlier this month, Heath sang “Wiegenlied,” a German lullaby, which she won gold for at the local level and then won bronze at the national competition, she said.
Her vocal coach Kammille Brinker gave her different options of songs, in various languages, to prepare for the competition, Heath said.
Ultimately, Heath, 17, said she picked “Wiegenlied” because she’d had experience with the German language in the past, she liked how it sounded with her voice, and she liked the soft and motherly tone of the song.
“We are extremely proud of Kennedy’s amazing accomplishments at this year’s convention,” said Steve Mays, President of the NAACP Gary Branch, in a statement. “She represents our branch, city and community well in all that she does.”
This year’s competition was the second time Heath competed in ACT-SO competition, she said. In 2023, she received gold medals at the local competition for vocal classical and vocal contemporary, but she did not place nationally, she said.
Heath, of Merrillville, said singing has always been a part of her life and something she’s been super passionate about. She worked with a vocal teacher for the first time in 2019, Heath said, and that’s when she elevated her passion for singing beyond a hobby.
“Since then, I’ve been nurturing it through my participation in ACT-SO, through theater, and then doing some singing at events or galas on the side,” Heath said.
Heath said her favorite style of singing is musical theater, but lately she’s enjoyed a more classical style of singing.
Now a freshman at Purdue University, Heath said she is studying toward a degree in ecology, evolution and environmental biology. Growing up, Heath said she always had a passion for animals and biology, and her goal is to become a marine biologist.
“With climate change and the crisis that’s going on, the ocean is one of the most important parts of our entire world. I really want to work in marine conservation,” Heath said.
Moving forward, Heath said she plans to join the Purdue University theater program and possibly an ensemble.
“It’s one of the things that’s like a part of who I am. I couldn’t see myself without singing in the future,” Heath said.
