Victoria Young Lanier '99: Role model makes music while making a difference

Though the Princeton campus provides the ideal backdrop for many clothing ads, Victoria Young Lanier '99 modeled with a famed clothing designer only after exiting FitzRandolph Gate.

Lanier is one of 23 young adults who are promoting their causes through the Polo Jeans Company's Fall 2003 G.I.V.E. (Get Involved. Volunteer. Exceed.) campaign, designed to spread awareness about community service. She considered participating in the campaign after hearing about it from Education Through Music, the nonprofit organization where she has worked for the past four years.

ETM (www.etmonline.org) helps improve the capabilities of elementary and middle school students by incorporating music into their classes. It currently reaches more than 6,000 students at 12 schools, mostly in New York.

In her capacity as a program coordinator, Lanier has developed the strings curriculum and has trained others to become music teachers. Her primary focus, however, is teaching music to elementary school children who might not otherwise be fortunate enough to learn. "I was initially hesitant to apply and interview [for the Polo campaign] because I had a really busy teaching schedule that week," Lanier said. "But I realized that the support, extra funding and exposure ETM would be receiving would be truly incredible."

The 23 finalists in the campaign were featured in advertisements for the Polo Jeans Company and received funding for their service organizations.

Following videotaped interviews and callbacks, Lanier flew down to Miami for three days of fittings and photo shoots. There she met the other young men and women, all with varying causes but one common goal: to help others.

"It was such a new experience for me," Lanier said. "It was tremendously inspiring getting to meet and know everyone involved in this campaign."

"Everyone" included young adults who have worked with HIV-positive families, literacy programs, inner-city children and leadership programs.

Lanier herself had a long record of community service work.

"Ever since I was little I had a passion for helping people, like the 'Buddy System' during grade school in which I volunteered my lunch time to play with kids with Down's Syndrome," Lanier said.

"I felt that since God had given me the ability to help, I should."

When she started working with ETM, Lanier found teaching to be a great fit.

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"As a teacher, the best part about working with students is being able to witness their tremendous growth," she said.

"Watching a student go from point A to B, rising to meet challenges, working efficiently with others, gaining self-esteem, expressing themselves creatively and establishing tools for themselves to succeed in all areas of their lives is phenomenally rewarding."

For Lanier, ETM offered her the chance to share with others the gifts she had received.

"I hope to give the same opportunities I had through music," she said.

An accomplished violinist, Lanier said that since age four she has been enthralled by the violin; it is, to her, "the most perfect instrument." She describes her music as "an outlet for my own self-expression — a place for inspiration, hope, and beauty."

"I was surrounded by music from the moment I was born. My parents love music and would always sing to us. My older sister [who graduated from the University the year before Lanier] got to learn the violin first and I would beg my parents to also let me play," she said.

"[The violin] had a close, personal feeling that needed nurturing and a certain touch in order for music to be made."

With her modern Faruolo violin, Lanier studied at Juilliard Pre-College. It was there that two of her teachers, Sally Thomas and Ann Setzer, first sparked her interest in teaching.

"They consistently gave 100 percent and believed in me, helping me develop confidence and better articulate my own individual expression," Lanier said.

Despite her success at Juilliard, Lanier decided to pursue a liberal arts education rather than continuing her studies at a conservatory.

"Because I went to Juilliard for those three years, I felt like I had the music training that I needed, but I still yearned for more," Lanier said.

"I went to Princeton because I didn't want just a conservatory life. I wanted a well-balanced education as opposed to a music conservatory."

Arriving at the University, Lanier found just what she was looking for.

"Being at Princeton helped instill in me the importance of integral, core human values as well as giving me the educational tools and expertise I needed in my field," Lanier said.

A resident of Wilson College and Spelman Hall, she was concertmaster of the Princeton University Orchestra under the direction of Michael Pratt.

"I was amazed at the level of musicianship and talent within the University Orchestra, and even more intrigued that the majority of the members were not even pursuing music, but becoming top mathematicians, scientists [and] doctors," Lanier said.

She also pursued other interests on campus, such as the Asian-American Students Association, the Princeton Evangelical Fellowship and karate. With its proximity to New York, Princeton also provided Lanier with an off-campus extracurricular activity: attending concerts at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center.

After graduation, she continued her education at Teachers College of Columbia University, earning an M.A. in music education and eventually working with other outreach programs. When she saw an ad for ETM, Lanier knew that she had finally found the program to which she could dedicate her time.

"I felt I could make a strong contribution to the program in utilizing both my musical and educational skills," she explained.

ETM also has strong ties to the University, providing another incentive for Lanier to get involved. Princeton Project 55, a nonprofit organization which connects undergraduates and alumni with community service groups, is associated with Education Through Music. Fellow alumni involved with ETM include Denise Aronzon '99, Rainah Berlowitz '97 and Kathy Canning '97.

Despite her hectic schedule of teaching and photo shoots, Lanier still finds time to practice the violin for three hours each day. If she has an upcoming performance, she might play up to six or seven hours daily. Lanier has performed at venues such as Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall and Juilliard Paul Hall.

For this dedicated musician and teacher, the most gratifying part of sharing her love of music, through performance, teaching and even clothing campaigns, is "being able to communicate deep emotions with others — oftentimes feelings and imagery which I can better express through music."

"There is such joy in the collaborative process of producing expressive music — uniting with others to create beauty and goodness is truly liberating and uplifting."