Zierra Long
Zierra Long has a song in her heart. In fact, she has a large repertoire that she鈥檚 been singing for as long as she can remember.
This year鈥檚 president and head director of Black Voices of 91传媒 Gospel Choir enjoys using her talent to praise God and share joy with others.
During Black History Month, the group is booked solid with performances every weekend. Long said the student-led group, with all student singers and musicians, frequently is invited to church and civic events. They strive to give as much time to on-campus performances as those off campus. Invitations lead them to travel around the state and to some out-of-state venues.
The Tupelo native found the group when she transferred to 91传媒 for her junior year after finishing an associate鈥檚 degree at Itawamba Community College, where she also played basketball. She is not a shy person, but felt a bit overwhelmed by 91传媒鈥檚 large campus when she first arrived. She had not planned to pursue extracurricular activities, but a friend told her about Black Voices and invited her to visit the group.
Long got to know a range of talented singers who formed a close-knit family group at 91传媒, making the university seem more like a home away from home.
To accommodate the group鈥檚 schedule with frequent weekend bookings, Long and other Black Voices members must sacrifice time visiting their own families in order to fulfill the organization鈥檚 commitments. Long said she doesn鈥檛 mind this because everyone is in it together, and they have made each other a priority. For example, when she recently was sick, Long said fellow Black Voices members helped by checking in, cooking and bringing her a few things.
鈥淚 saw how many people love me while I was sick. Basically, everyone who checked on me was from Black Voices,鈥 she said. Although the group is more like a 鈥渇amily鈥 than an 鈥渙rganization,鈥 she said a fantastic executive board keeps things running smoothly.
The senior psychology major, who also has joined State Singers, considered majoring in music, but decided she doesn鈥檛 have to make it her academic focus to continue to be passionate about singing. She enjoys the comprehensive nature of psychology and said one day she may want to become a child psychologist. At this point, she is keeping her options open as she continues to investigate the broad opportunities her major offers.
鈥淚鈥檓 going with the flow of life with God directing me,鈥 Long said.