Artist: Kelsey Leahy | Location: Spartanburg, SC
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Artist: Kelsey Leahy | Location: Spartanburg, SC
Spartanburg, SC
Born in Massachusetts, but raised in Myrtle Beach, Kelsey Leahy has spent the last decade in Spartanburg getting her education and working a myriad of jobs and projects. She graduated from Converse in 2015 with a BA in Music and from Wofford in 2010 with a BA in Sociology. She was awarded the Mary Mildred Sullivan award for love and helpfulness to others at her graduation in 2010, after which she spent a year in service as an AmeriCorps*VISTA laying the groundwork for her current community endeavors.
Kelsey is the Evening and Weekend Circulation Assistant at the Wofford library and she teaches oboe lessons to middle school students through the Lawson Academy at Converse. She makes reeds for herself and her students, also freelancing around town with various schools, churches, and local musicians who want to add an oboe element to their songs.
Kelsey is the Executive Secretary of Success Initiative (SI), a nonprofit forming that is focused on STEAM education in a makerspace setting. In an effort to connect public and private entities, SI is partnering with artist Daniel Zongrone on the STEAM Garden, a community garden that will serve as an outdoor classroom for local schools and community groups. After the STEAM Garden is completed in the summer of 2018, she will continue her work with SI in Spartanburg while spreading the program to new territories. Eventually, she will settle down in Nashville, TN, to continue her work with SI and to pursue her oboe rockstar dreams.