Forewords

After the initial shock, and disappointment, Alexa sprang into action. “I’m a determined cookie,” she laughs. By the next day, she’d applied to IC’s Exploratory Program. This time, she got in. With her eye still on musical theatre, Alexa then auditioned for the School of Music (now the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance) and, working with IC advisors, switched her major twice more before she even started classes.   

Just as Alexa was about to dive into her first semester at college, she lost her voice because of an upper respiratory infection, which turned into a vocal injury. “I was a singer who couldn’t sing!” she shared. While waiting for her voice to heal, Alexa started to write songs for the first time. For fun, she downloaded TikTok—and shared pieces of what she’d written.  

During the COVID lockdown, Alexa was posting from home. When TikTok added its Duet feature, Alexa invited people to sing with her, leaving Mad Lib–style spaces for them to fill in. Her first duet post in April 2020—a request for duets to “If I Could Tell Her” from Dear Evan Hansen—became so popular that Dear Evan Hansen’s official Twitter and Instagram accounts reposted many of the duets.  

“It was insane because I was such a Broadway lover,” says Alexa about the post that drew her international attention. “It was such an amazing light in my life.” Her success eventually burgeoned into connections with Broadway stars such as Laura Bell Bundy and other celebrities including Lil Nas X, Andy Grammar, and Miranda Sings. 

With her growing connections on Broadway, she ran a series of “Sing for Alexa Saturdays,” free master classes where students workshopped songs with original cast members from shows including Dear Evan Hansen, Waitress, and Heathers. 

As Alexa navigated global fame, she was still recovering from her vocal injury. She found support from many of her mentors at IC such as dawn pierce, her voice teacher. “dawn’s empowered me to be the driving force behind my own education and has been a huge support in my original work,“ says Alexa. “She is such an amazing human because the way that she gets at the vocal mechanism is by getting to the person themselves.”  

Alexa’s digital audio professor, Alex Reed, showed her how to record and compose—and she often tried new material out on him during his office hours. In other classes, she found new interests outside of music. “Now, I've discovered these deep passions for photography, for drawing, for painting, for biology—huge surprise. I don't think I ever would've discovered that if not for being able to have that opportunity.” 

For aspiring social media influencers, Alexa believes the best TikToks are authentic and singular: “Be open and honest. There’s only one of you. The more that you can incorporate some of you into the video and show either pieces of you or content that isn’t usually seen, that sparks more attention than another dance video, in my opinion.”  

Alexa’s own posts continue to be infused with her deep devotion to music and art, and her natural exuberance for life. “I think that I realized that my ‘brand’ is just me, and I’m always going to be changing,” she notes. So, what’s next for Alexa? Besides finishing school, she’ll be releasing more of her songs and a podcast musical—part podcast, part meditative experience. And, as always, she’ll be inspiring audiences all over the world through her singular verve, vision, and voice. 

BTW: Watch out for Alexa’s latest “pirate–fairy vibe,” all about the beauty, adventure, and everyday magic of life.