Inspiring Dreams 2022: Cultivating Miracles
This October, Lundstrum hosted its Inspiring Dreams Breakfast, an annual event where community members learn more about Lundstrum’s mission of helping young people discover their unique gifts, develop their depth of character and imagine new possibilities for their lives. This year’s speakers included former student Kaia Fitzgerald and board member Mikisha Nation who shared personal stories about the impact that Lundstrum’s quality program and caring mentorship has had on their life, and the lives of so many young people in our community.
Kaia remembered her time at Lundstrum had both top-notch arts training as well as nurturing support — which was so important to Kaia since she was facing some personal struggles. She credits Lundstrum for “curating a space of love, kindness and learning.” The warmth of the Lundstrum community gave Kaia the reassurance and confidence to pursue her dreams in musical theater.
Event Emcee Mikisha Nation, Executive Director of Teach for America Twin Cities, shared the value she sees in performing arts education, especially after the isolation so many students faced during the pandemic. “A lot of people will ask me, ‘why the arts?’” Mikisha told the audience, “At Lundstrum, students are learning about cooperation, developing their social/emotional skills and learning how to partner with each other.” Lundstrum Executive Director Amy Ellis added, “Children respond to excellence; children deserve excellence. Our kids are facing incredible hurdles as they work to find their place in this world, but what keeps us moving forward are the many students who hold onto hope and continue to believe in miracles.”
You can hear Kaia’s talent - and her moving personal story - in this short highlight video of the event.
Contributions raised at the Inspiring Dreams Breakfast help fuel Lundstrum’s mission of cultivating a love and knowledge of the performing arts so that young people will discover their unique gifts, develop their depth of character and imagine new possibilities for their lives.
Kaia first joined Lundstrum as a voice student of Sue Casserly-Kosel in 2016.
This year’s Inspiring Dreams breakfast raised more than $64,000 to fulfill this mission. We are thankful to all those who attended and were a part of this special event to share Lundstrum’s impact on our youth. We look forward to another year of inspiring dreams in our young people.