Leadership lived: Music is a passion for Kylie Gilmore

Music has always been a part of Kylie Gilmore’s life. Now that she’s in college, singing helps relieve some of the daily pressures she faces as a business administration major at the University of Illinois Springfield.

“It’s a stress reliever,” said Gilmore. “Whenever I come into choir, I feel all of the stress lifted away… because I can just sing and pay attention to music.”

Gilmore is a member of the UIS Choir and a Camerata Scholarship recipient, a $10,000 performance scholarship for non-music majors that is renewable for 4 years.

As a business administration major, she’s often asked why she didn’t major in music. She dreams about landing a job as a marketing consultant for a theatre company or music label, which would allow her to combine her love of business and the fine arts.

For now, she’s busy performing on campus and learning from every minute.

“Performing gives you a sense of leadership,” said Gilmore. “You have to take leadership of yourself when you’re performing with a big group and make sure you’re doing your part. It may not seem like every single one of us are leaders, but in reality we are because we take charge of our part, we make sure that we are on pitch and on tone and everything.”

Outside of choir, Gilmore is vice chair of finance and co-sponsorship for the Student Activities Committee, which plans events on campus. This past summer she was a student orientation leader and a Summer Bridge Program mentor.

“Every single thing that I do is giving me experience for the future and is helping me become a better leader,” said Gilmore.

She knows she’ll need more than a degree to land a job following graduation.

“We’re going to need experience, so that is why I love absolutely everything I do,” she said.