The bible verse above is carved into the "Westminster Arch" inside Princeton University chapel. Students graduating from Westminster Choir College pass through the arch during Commencement, a decades-old tradition founded in the rich shared history between these two schools. When it was finally my turn to walk through the arch, I knew I had come one step closer in fulfilling my purpose to minister unto the world through song.

Music has been part of my life for almost as long as I can remember, and there are few things on earth that give me as much joy as singing. Throughout my childhood, I would hear my grandmother, Joyce, vocalizing in our music room. She had always talked about singing for the Glory of God, but it wasn’t until I began taking voice lessons in college that I experienced the profundity of those words firsthand. I was moved to tears one afternoon while practicing “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child.” The spiritual was a staple in my grandmother’s repertoire, and as I learned it myself, I started to become of aware of how she connected to God when she sang. Though my grandmother had passed away a few years before, in that moment I felt I could understand her more deeply than I ever had. I began to commune with my Savior as never before. As I continue to hone my craft, it is my hope that my audiences might also come to know and experience this joy. Whether in an empty house, in a practice room, or in a concert hall, my desire and objective always remain the same: to glorify God.

Nile Scott Photography