Help Mable Pursue Her Audio Engineering Dream

Hello, my name is Mable Ponicki. I’m seventeen and about to graduate high school. I go to a small art school in Tempe, Arizona, and am very invested in both the visual and performing arts. I'm planning on becoming an audio engineer and the program I'm enrolled in starts July 18, 2025. This summer!

I’ve always been very passionate about music. I’ve been playing the piano since third grade, a whole nine years. I got my first piano when I was almost nine. Nothing fancy but it did the job. Over the past nine years, I’ve done a lot of different things with music. I did the Annual Awards Music Festival in Mesa for years. I’d spend months working on one music piece and then play it in front of judges for critiquing. It was always a lot to prepare for and kind of nerve-racking but in the end those experiences taught me discipline, and that practice makes permanent. I've also done live concerts with other musicians my own age and have just really enjoyed creating music and being part of the local music scene.

Outside of the piano, I have also been playing the guitar for four years now. I've composed several of my own songs for the guitar. In my sophomore year of high school, I took intro to Music Theory and loved every second of it. This past year I took classes at Mesa Community College for music theory and music production. My mom has helped support my dream I have of working in the music industry someday. She’s always been willing to do whatever she can to get me into classes to further my education as well as surround me with any opportunities that might help boost me closer to my dream. My grandparents have also paid for me to take music lessons since third grade and I appreciate everything they have done for me so much. I may not even have gotten this far if it weren’t for them.

I’m not sure I can even put into words how much I love music and making it. I guess it could be compared to how badly the coyote wants to catch the roadrunner. He’s willing to run off the edge of a cliff, sit on a rocket and light the fuse, pole vault over the Grand Canyon, and so many other crazy scenarios. He never gives up no matter what. For me, I am determined to make this dream my reality and I'm not giving up.

I visited C.R.A.S. (Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences) last summer for their three-hour orientation and was blown away. They literally have all the tools and equipment used in the top recording and live audio industries today, plus amazing instructors that any student could ever need for learning all the skills needed to rise to the top. I was super impressed and decided that very same day that this was the school for me.

My mom is a teacher here in Arizona and she doesn’t make a whole lot of money. She’s also a single parent and has been supporting me my whole life so I thought I'd utilize some resources on my own and try to get some help. I am currently working and saving as much as I have budgeted that I will need, but I've done the math and I will still need $6,000 for the remaining balance. I’ve applied for scholarships, grants, my own personal loan and pretty much everything I can get. Everything is paid for except this last bit. My mom is still working really hard to help get this paid. Anything anyone can give would be tremendously appreciated with much gratitude.