Finding His Rhythm: How Isaiah Finished His Degree on His Own Terms

Isaiah grew up with music: singing, playing piano, and performing in theater. By high school, he'd discovered something else he loved — teaching it. The people around him saw Broadway in his future, so he enrolled in a conservatory-style music school with two dreams in mind: performing and, one day, teaching music himself.

Two years in, the dream started to fray. The program was grueling, and the bureaucracy of a music education career wore on him. He'd fallen out of love with music. So he pivoted — he'd teach privately, finish his degree somewhere more affordable, and start fresh. He transferred into the CUNY system and was nearly there, just one semester from graduating, when COVID hit.

The pandemic closed Broadway, silenced performance venues, and cast a shadow over the future of music entirely. The uncertainty took a toll on his mental health, and with so much uncertainty, he left before he could finish. What followed were years of survival jobs in New York — florist, pet nutritionist, life insurance agent — until a move to South Carolina and a family lifeline gave him space to reset.

That slowdown led him back to the classroom. Isaiah found City Year, an AmeriCorps program, and began serving at a middle school, alongside teachers to support students who need extra support in the classroom.

 Each year brought a new role: first as a Success Coach helping students with math, English, and social-emotional learning; then as a Service Leader managing a team of Corps members and coordinating logistics between City Year and the school. The following year, City Year hired him as a full-time Impact Manager overseeing three school sites and 15 AmeriCorps members.

Isaiah discovered Duet through City Year. The self-paced, competency-based model fit his life in a way traditional school never had. His prior credits transferred, two prerequisite courses through Sophia got him started, and he began his Bachelor's in Management in September 2025. That same month he stepped into his most demanding role yet.

"A lot of the projects were reflective — I was literally living that content every day," he says.

He worked on his projects during every free moment he had and finished his BA in one term.

"A lot of the [competency-based] projects were reflective — I was literally living that content every day.”

He even had the honor of singing the national anthem at SNHU’s graduation ceremony in May 2026.

"I fell back in love with learning because of this program," he says. "And now I'm not stopping."