Ahmed Anzaldúa: Reimagining Music’s Role in Society
Emerging Alumni Awardee Ahmed Anzaldúa (DMA ‘19, music), a "remarkable scholar, teacher, and conductor," is nationally recognized for amplifying marginalized voices. As founder of Border CrosSing, he has rebuilt choral traditions to integrate diverse musicians, audiences, and repertoire. His work, including co-editing the Justice Choir Songbook, highlights his commitment to using music as a tool for social change.
Meet CLA's 2024 Outstanding Alumni
CLA alumni are transforming the world. If you need proof, look no further than these eleven catalysts for change. Nominated by their peers, we're excited and proud to recognize this year's Alumni of Notable Achievement and Emerging Alumni Award recipients.
What do you do now? What energizes you about it?
I am the Director of Music Ministries at Unity Church-Unitarian and the Artistic Director of Border CrosSing. I am most energized by the time I spend making music and enabling others to make music.
If you could go back to your time in college, what advice would you give to yourself at that age?
A college education is as much about location, relationships, and experiences as it is about academic success. If I could go back, I would tell myself to meet more people, value my relationships more, and make sure to fully experience everything the city has to offer.
What should current students understand about your profession if they are considering it for themselves?
I am in a highly improbable career and immensely grateful that I am able to do it for a living. Building any sort of career in music is incredibly difficult and requires a great deal of luck. It is important to be aware of this fact from the start and to never lose sight of it.
What has scholarship support meant to you?
Scholarship support meant everything to me. I would not have been able to go to college or pursue graduate degrees without generous scholarship support. I will always be grateful for the many people and organizations that made my studies possible, and [I] make it a point to pay it forward at every opportunity.
What's next? What are your personal/professional goals for the next five years?
I came to this country with great hope for the future. I still hold that hope, but being a Mexican-Arab immigrant father of a transgender child is not easy in the current climate. Currently, my personal and professional goals are focused on holding on to what I've built and keeping my child safe.
About the Alumni Awards
The Emerging Alumni Award is one of CLA’s Outstanding Alumni Awards that highlights recent graduates who have been remarkable leaders, creators, and community service-oriented individuals.
Nominees of this award are chosen each year by members of the CLA Student Board and past honorees of this award. All nominees are new alumni who have graduated from the College of Liberal Arts generally within the past 10 years. These individuals are chosen for their outstanding contributions to their fields and communities while still emerging in their professional careers.
The College of Liberal Arts Alumni of Notable Achievement award, celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, is one of two Outstanding Alumni Awards that highlight former students who have stood out as great leaders, professionals, and community service-oriented individuals. This award is one of the ways that CLA comes together to celebrate alumni for their achievements in all areas of society—career paths, interests, community involvement, talents, achievements, and more.
All nominees for this award are submitted by fellow CLA faculty, alum, staff, and friends, and the winners are selected by a committee of past honorees. This award was started in 1994 and has since been given each year (with the exception of 2019-20). These handpicked individuals are celebrated and honored for their impact on the world around them.
Learn more about CLA's Outstanding Alumni Awards.
This story was edited by Sally Adams, an undergraduate student in CLA.
