Huskie Spotlight

Meet some of our great students and faculty.

Ranan R.J. Antonini, ’25, Violin Performance

Music Huskie SpotlightHuskie Spotlight: Ranan R.J. Antonini, '25, Violin PerformanceWhat did you want to be when you were growing up? When I was a young kid, I wanted to become a soccer player but with time I realized that I had more talent for arts in general,...

Andrew Kinsey, ’25, Music Education and Percussion Performance

Music Huskie SpotlightHuskie Spotlight: Andrew Kinsey, '25, Music Education and Percussion PerformanceWhat did you want to be when you were growing up? From a young age, I didn’t know much about what I wanted to be when I grew older, all I knew was I didn’t want to be...

Gabriel Wade, ’24, Master of Music

Music Huskie SpotlightHuskie Spotlight: Gabriel Wade, '24, Master of MusicWhat did you want to be when you were growing up? Ever since starting band and piano class in middle school, I've always wanted to make music a major part of my life. That led to me pursuing a...

Stefan Lenthe, ’24, Master of Music

Music Huskie SpotlightHuskie Spotlight: Stefan Lenthe, '24, Master of MusicWhat did you want to be when you were growing up? I pretty much knew from an early age that I wanted to be a musician. For me it all goes back to very first time I heard The Beatles. I was...

Liam Weber, ’25, Music Performance and Music Education

Music Huskie SpotlightHuskie Spotlight: Liam Weber, '25, Music Performance and Music EducationWhat did you want to be when you were growing up? By middle school I had already decided on becoming a music major. Originally I just wanted to be a middle school band...

Dartagnan Stephen, ’23, Master of Music

Music Huskie SpotlightHuskie Spotlight: Dartagnan Stephen, '23, Master of MusicWhat did you want to be when you were growing up? I've always wanted to be a performer. As my goals became clearer and my musical techniques became more refined, I found my voice with the...

Imanol Ruiz, ’24, Music Education

Music Huskie SpotlightHuskie Spotlight: Imanol Ruiz, '24, Music EducationWhat did you want to be when you were growing up? According to my mom when I was young, I wanted to be the blue Power Ranger but sadly NIU doesn’t offer that as a major. But I did want to be a...

Rashunda Dorset-Headley, ’23, Master of Music

Music Huskie SpotlightHuskie Spotlight: Rashunda Dorset-Headley, '23, Master of MusicWhat did you want to be when you were growing up? Originally, I wanted to become a lawyer or a doctor, however, that quickly changed. At the age of six I knew I wanted to become a...

Jalen Charles, ’23, Master of Music

Music Huskie SpotlightHuskie Spotlight: Jalen Charles, '25, Master of MusicWhat did you want to be when you were growing up? Growing up, I wanted to become a lawyer. At 12 years old, it changed to becoming a pilot but I am now on a different path as a musician.What is...