Sophomore Milcah Morrison is nervous. In just five minutes, she will be under the spotlight, filling the room with her voice’s powerful resonance. But when her hand is filled with the familiar weight of the microphone, and adrenaline drowns out the rest of the chatter, she remembers what music has always been for her — a safe haven.

Morrison has overcome the challenges of a tumultuous childhood and home life to pursue music, and has showcased her singing everywhere, from football games to international cruises. Her musical journey began at the age of 5, when she joined a local Russian choir group. In elementary and middle school, she supplemented her vocal skills by learning the violin and cello. She joined the school choir in seventh grade, dropping out briefly before joining Gunn’s choir during her freshman year.

Even before joining choir or picking up an instrument, creativity had always been a crucial part of Morrison’s life. “I have had a troubled childhood with domestic violence and lots of abuse in my household, so I’ve always expressed my creativity as a sort of coping mechanism,” she said. “I remember when I was younger, when me and my mom would get into arguments, I would make up little songs about it and sing it out to help myself (calm down).”

Growing up, challenges such as abuse, foster care and homelessness hindered Morrison’s musical involvement. “I was homeless for 4.5 years, so we couldn’t afford music lessons — we could barely afford gas to get me and my sister to school,” she said. “I felt like I could not express (myself) or let everyone hear my voice because it felt like something was always in the way. I also missed school a lot, so I had to really focus on my education before focusing on my music.”

In freshman year, due to home difficulties and peer pressure, Morrison would skip classes — even choir, the only class she felt she could express herself in. It wasn’t until choir teacher Bill Liberatore sat down with her toward the start of the year, threatening to remove her from class, that she received a wake-up call. “Mr. Lib scheduled a meeting with me and my foster mother and basically said, ‘Why skip? You can get credit if you just participate,’” Morrison said. “He was encouraging me to not just waste my high school career skipping class. After that, I realized, ‘Okay, I need to stop skipping choir. I need to get my stuff together.’”

Morrison began focusing on music more seriously and has made many public singing appearances since, performing in downtown Mountain View, a Palo Alto church, a New York subway and many other locations. She has had solos in performances inside and outside of school and performed the “Star-Spangled Banner” at football games, including the first home game on Aug. 24 and another on Sept. 8.

In June, Morrison and her foster family vacationed on a European cruise called Taulk, in which they toured France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and the Netherlands. One night, after the boat docked in Germany, she sang the song “I’m Here” by Cynthia Erivo at an open-mic night for a restaurant. Afterward, she was formally asked to perform for the guests for the next three nights. Morrison felt that this opportunity elevated her skill as a singer. “Doing the cruise, getting input from so many different people from different countries definitely inspired me,” she said. “Because when I get on stage, I have this power: I command 100% of the attention of the room, and I’m the only one who’s able to control the power coming out of my mouth. I can set the tone for the whole room.”

Morrison also recently auditioned for American Idol, an American singing competition television series. Over her Zoom audition on Aug. 14, Morrison sang the same song she did in Germany: “I’m Here” by Cynthia Erivo.

This audition had long been on her bucket list. “I auditioned right when I turned 15, since that was the minimum (age requirement),” Morrison said. “Honestly, it was my dream to be on a big show like this. And I just thought, ‘Why not?’ If you make it, you make it, and if you don’t, you don’t.”

After a weeklong waiting period, Morrison finally heard back: Although she met the minimum age requirement and they were extremely impressed with her performance, American Idol was looking for a contestant with an “adult mindset,” meaning someone who was willing to take on this responsibility and fully adapt to a brand-new lifestyle — something Milcah had indicated she wasn’t ready to do.

Despite her disappointment, Morrison took the rejection in stride. “Once you’re in the industry, you’re kind of stuck there,” she said. “So for me, if I do make it, I’m risking my whole childhood. And I really didn’t really have a childhood to begin with, so I’m not going to take the risk and have to throw away the rest of it.”

Although Morrison plans on giving American Idol another chance when she’s a bit older, she also wants school to be a priority. If she had been accepted, she would have been afraid of falling behind in school again, since the travel involved in the competition would interfere with her attendance. “You’re expected to provide your own education,” Morrison said. “I would have to depend on the school and my teachers to send me work from class and future lessons. (American Idol) would be very time-consuming.”

In the meantime, Morrison will continue to pursue her passions and urge other students who have experienced similar obstacles in their personal and school lives to do the same. “I want people to read this and be like, ‘Okay, this is a person that has been through a lot and is able to overcome their trauma, work through everything and do something that they love,’” she said. “I would definitely say that if you are interested in something, explore it, and take every opportunity you can find.”

Morrison is grateful for not only the solo-performance opportunities that have taught her the logistics of an audition process and given her stage experience, but also the Gunn choir, which has provided techniques for her to harness the power in her voice. “I would honestly say that singing has saved me,” she said. “Being in the Gunn choir has saved me, and music has saved my life.”