• Program: Charter Oak Cultural Center
• Location: Hartford, Connecticut
• Instrument: Clarinet

Jaelie Lanier is our Music Student of the Month! Jaelie is in 11^th grade at Rockville High School and has been attending Charter Oak Cultural Center for over 2 years. She has taken cooking, salsa dance, poetry, painting, and drawing and is currently in the Brass Band where she plays the clarinet.

Last year she was playing the flute, and her teacher guided her to the clarinet. She is learning to read music and play notes. 

Jaelie often comes to class after a full day of school and tries to leave the day behind and enter Charter Oak with a ‘brave mind’ especially when she has had a bad day. 

One of Jaelie’s favorite memories is dancing to Nicki Minaj. She performed in a talent show at school singing a favorite Nicki Minaj song!

Jaelie likes to make up her own songs on the clarinet. She loves to improvise and make music that goes along with how she is feeling.

In school, Jaelie developed a love of English class after she took the poetry class at Charter Oak. She has gotten A’s in English and reports that the poetry class opened her vocabulary.

Jaelie was an only child most of her life, but in 2021 her baby sister changed that! Jaelie is devoted to her sister and loves making arts and crafts projects with her.

Some of her favorite things to do are working at JCPenney where she enjoys helping customers, writing in her journal, and playing with her baby sister.

Jaelie loves to mentor younger students in class. She enjoys helping others and making them feel safe.

Jaelie is planning to attend college after high school and she knows music and dance will always be in her life. 

Jaelie’s mom is happy to be part of the “Charter Oak Family.” They attend many of the family programs and parties. They also benefit from the To Assure Us Zoom workshops for families, which span many important topics.