“I Fell Back In Love With Learning Because of This Degree.”

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.

Then COVID changed everything. The pandemic closed Broadway, silenced performance venues, and cast a shadow over the future of music entirely. The uncertainty took a toll, and with no clear path forward, 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 moment to pause 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 and after completing two prerequisite courses, he began his Bachelor's in Management in September 2025.

"A lot of the projects [from my coursework] 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 under a year. He even had the honor of singing the national anthem at SNHU’s graduation ceremony in May 2026.

"A lot of the projects [from my coursework] were reflective — I was literally living that content every day.”

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

Isaiah is now pursuing his Master of Arts in Special Education online through Teachers College, Columbia University. He’s also considering a PhD in Music Therapy down the road.

*City Year is a national partner of Duet.