Accomplished singer, songwriter and entrepreneur,
Nakia Madry-Smith, lives VIBRANT!

“Your gift is not for you. It’s not doing anyone any favors gathering dust in your closet.”

On an otherwise cloudy Virginia Beach morning, Nakia Madry-Smith championed creativity and confidence – encouraging a dozen attendees at our May 17 Creative Mornings VB gathering, hosted in The Garage, to share their gifts openly.

But standing up before a crowd of fellow creatives to share her own gifts didn’t come easily. “I am sweating!” Nakia admitted, acknowledging that networking is often the hardest thing for creatives to do. Believing that one’s gift is a responsibility, however, Nakia effervescently shared where and when she feels most VIBRANT.

Nakia has always felt most lively when surrounded by music. A preacher’s daughter, she first found her voice in the church choir. As the only Black girl in an all-white school in Connecticut, she was heavily influenced by the likes of Nirvana and No Doubt and felt most comfortable in combat boots. Music was something she felt she not only wanted to pursue but also needed to.

Inspired by her father to “dream big” and reminded by her mother to “make sure you also get a job,” Nakia set her sights on earning her music engineering technology degree from Hampton University, a place she had only heard about but one that seemed like it was where she belonged. Yet, the transition proved challenging, as Nakia struggled to fit in.

Eventually, she was reminded of her purpose and made a choice. “Being vibrant and being happy is a daily choice. That’s a perspective that came with time, with maturity,” Nakia reminisced.

Becoming the lead singer of The Fuzz Band, a fusion of Funk, Jazz and Soul, allowed Nakia to figure out who she was, creatively and personally. The best, as they say, was yet to come. Nakia would go on to perform across the country and internationally, perform at private functions for Tommy Hilfiger, and serve on three USO tours to the Middle East, Europe, and the Mediterranean.

Every day since joining The Fuzz Band has provided Nakia with the opportunity to be exactly who she wants to be. This includes being the creator and bandleader of Rocky 7, all while serving as Executive Director of three Regional Higher Education Centers at Old Dominion University, where she has had a 14-year tenure and earned her MBA.

And these opportunities are not ones Nakia takes for granted. In fact, she considers gratitude one of the surest ways to feel VIBRANT. The others? Daily affirmations! Every morning, Nakia tells herself who she is – and who she will be: “I am a Grammy-winning, multi-platinum singer-songwriter… I won’t bore you with the whole thing, but you get it. Don’t allow the fear of success to hold you back. When you find the thing that brings you joy, make space for it.”

And that she has! Nakia’s vibrant career has also included opening for Living Colour and performing on The Stephen Colbert Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, BET, and Good Morning America as a member of Pharrell Williams’s Voices of Fire gospel choir, an experience she considers “the craziest thing I’ve ever done!”

Ultimately, Nakia believes that whether we accomplish our dreams is entirely up to us. “Don’t miss your moment. Take the leap of faith. The only time you fall fail is when you don’t try.”

No doubt we all left feeling more empowered after hearing from Nakia. I imagine many of us woke up the next morning reciting an affirmation to ourselves, too.

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Join us every third Friday in 2024 as we explore, along with 236 other cities in 69 countries around the world, 12 new themes in a face-to-face community format. Past themes have included Rhythm, Endurance, Simplicity, Pride, and Treasure. June’s theme is Pattern, and our speaker will be Empowered Plant Cakes’ artisan baker / owner Paige Welch of Virginia Beach.

CM also has virtual field trips and a database of previous talks to enjoy and explore at home.

-Blog by volunteer Valeria L. Palmertree