Whether it’s singing in concerts, play- ing in piano recitals or performing in plays, since the age of 3, Mariam Kubursi has been in the spotlight. After trying out various performing arts, Kubursi finally found her passion in singing.

“The first time I realized that I really liked to sign was when I won my first competition,” she said. “I was 8 years old, and the thrill of it all really got to me — being able to perform on stage something I knew that I was doing well wanted to do and that singing was going to be a part of whatever I was going to do for the rest of my life.”

Throughout high school, Kubursi has continued to sing at concerts and in theater, but she has also written and released her own music. Although she initially envisioned a future as a classical singer or on Broadway, things began to change after she released her first single, “Romeo,” in her sophomore year. “

Now my dream is to be a songwriter who writes and produces her own music,” Kubursi said. “I want to have concerts and I want to be in stadiums hopefully one day and make a name for myself. But I also really want people to relate to my music more than anything, and I want to be able to create a space that hat people will feel seen or heard (in).”

Kubursi will continue to pursue her lifelong goals at the Berklee College of Music next year.

“I could tell Berklee really wanted me to push my boundaries and to create things that haven’t been created yet,” she sad. “Berklee really emphasized me growing as not only an artist but as a human being.”

In college, Kubursi hopes to hone her singing and songwriting skills.

“There’s still an insane amount that I have to learn and be introduced to, and I know Berklee is really going to teach me a lot when it comes to songwriting,” she said. “I am really excited to learn all the completely different sides and basically the math behind songwriting.”