adminCOLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Drake, J. Cole and Lil Durk helped central Ohioans create all kinds of memories this week, but the ones a group of local students now have will be tough to top.
The artists performed Tuesday and Wednesday night at the Schottenstein Center. More than two dozen area students were part of the show. They had the spotlight on them as they sang and danced along with Lil Durk.
“It was a dream come true,” said Aaiden Bush, a sophomore at Independence High School.
Nine other students from Independence were alongside him. He said Drake, J. Cole and Lil Durk are three of his favorite artists.
“It was amazing, before this I could never dream of me being on stage singing or even being on the floor like with them, it was amazing,” Bush said.
The opportunity came about through mentoring work the ACE Program and My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) do at the school, according to Jamie Allen, the assistant principal. She said she first found out about it Monday. Students were told Tuesday.
“One boy we announced it to, he cried, because he was just so excited to get the opportunity,” Allen said.
Students were given minutes to write why they should get to be part of the experience. Allen said it goes along with what is taught at Independence, being involved and always being prepared.
“You don’t have to get ready if you stay ready, so we want them to stay ready, because you just never know,” she said.
She was at the concerts with them too. In total, 29 students from the area got to participate in the opportunity of a lifetime.
“I think it will show them more of the world that’s out there. That you are not limited to your city, you’re not limited to circumstances, that there is a world out there, you see all these people that are here at this concert, they’re coming to see somebody on stage who at one point he was just a regular high school kid,” Bush said.