When News4 first met Jawuan Hill, he was a young man with big dreams. The Dumfries, Virginia, teen was working part-time at Burger King to try to afford to enroll at The Julliard School and pursue his dream of becoming an actor.
After his story aired on News4, donations poured into his fundraising account.
Four years later, Hill is a Julliard graduate who’s teaching theater to young people in D.C. He said community donations changed his life.
“I would not be here if four years ago I didn’t do that interview and people helped me pay for my schooling,” he said. “I feel forever changed as an actor and a human, and I’m just grateful I got the opportunity.”
Hill’s days at Julliard were long: 13 hours a day, five days a week. When times were tough, he thought of his grandma. She paid his Julliard application fee and stayed up late to help him with his essays. Just two months before he got in, she died of ovarian cancer.
“I think she’d be really proud, which makes me very happy. I think she’d be happy that I stayed the course. Juilliard is a hard program. It’s a really hard program. But you come out a stronger artist than ever,” Hill said.
He’s auditioning for roles on the big screen and on Broadway. But he knew he wanted to spend his summer giving back.
He’s working with a program put on by the D.C. Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services that helps young people tackle tough topics such a police brutality while learning about future career paths.
“You have to see a physical manifestation of your dream, and so sometimes that means someone that looks like you,” Hill said. “More than anything, I’m just excited to come back and be like, ‘Hey you can do this, and you just need somebody to tell you can.’”
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