Across the pond in the Krinovitz Recital Hall located in Hawkins Hall at Plattsburgh State, the sound of the bass bumps through the speakers.
In front of a small intimate audience, Shaun Boothe, recording artist and creator of the Unauthorized Biography Series, performed three of his biography raps and spoke to students about life and discovering your own path to your destiny.
But how did he get to PSUC?
Tobi Hay, interim director at the PSUC Career Center, looked through the talent agency that was home to the speaker from the fall. While doing her research through this agency, she came across Boothe.
“I booked him because I thought he would be inspiring at a time during the semester when students, particularly juniors and seniors, are feeling pressure to figure out their career plans,” Hay said.
Boothe made it clear throughout his speeches between each biography he performed that not everyone has a set path to greatness.
When he spoke about, Muhammad Ali, Oprah and Malala Yousafzai, he pointed out how they all faced their own obstacles in order to fulfill what they were meant to fulfill.
Hay said that Boothe made his performance “personal” by simply explaining his own career journey as well as relating those people he spoke about relevant to the audience that was before him.
She also recalls a story he told during the performance about his biography on Muhammad Ali.
After Boothe released his biography on him, Ali’s daughter reached out and told him it was very well done and that he should pursue more of that type of work as it clearly has an impact.
“He reminded me that words of encouragement to people who are pursuing something they are good at can have tremendous impact,” Hay said.
For junior bio-medical sciences and nutrition major and sister of Alpha Epsilon Phi, Amelia Bartalino, Boothe’s performance had a lasting impact on her.
“I learned that it’s what’s behind the scenes of a successful person that really makes them successful,” Bartalino said, “not just the money.”
Bartalino said that she not only learned about hardwork and dedication towards your passion but also, information about the leaders Boothe described in his biographies, internal motivational skills and to not allow excuses to be a barrier to what you want to achieve, something Boothe stressed quite a lot in his performance.
“As students, we get so overwhelmed with school it is hard to see the potential that our hard work will have in the future,” Bartalino said.
As mentioned above, Bartalino stresses how personal he made the performance.
She enjoyed how passionate and energetic he was about each topic and how he didn’t just scratch the surface with the bigraphy aspect.
“[he] talked about their hard work to get to the top as opposed to what the public sees,” Bartalino said.
After the show, Boothe announced he was staying after to answer questions or just to chat to those who wanted to.
A line quickly formed in front of him and he took the time to shake each person’s hand and introduce themselves.
When asked what Boothe wanted the audience to take away from his performance, he said that it’s okay to let things go, that it’s not about having a master plan and that it’s about finding the next “right” step. As he said during his performance:
“We don’t get to choose what happens to us in life,” Boothe said, “the only choice we get is how we react.”
Email Jacqueline Hinchcliffe at cp@cardinalpointsonline.com
