Music Stars Making A Social Impact: Why & How Vocalist Juliette Valle Is Helping To Change Our World
An Interview With Edward Sylvan
My mission is to be a voice for transplant patients and become a valuable ally for them, helping to dispel myths that people believe about organ donation while raising money to donate to various transplant organizations.
As a part of our series about stars who are making an important social impact, I had the pleasure of interviewing Juliette Valle.
Juliette Valle is an accomplished vocalist, advocate, artist, host, and Miss South Florida 2020/2021. She holds two State MPA Vocal championships for the category “Opera Performance in a Foreign Language,” is a company member for the Magic City Opera, and is named twice as a National Semi-Finalist for the New York Lyric Opera Competition. Her 2021 Winter album, “Joyfully, Juliette Valle” is inspired by her mission to raise awareness for organ donation, and one hundred percent of the proceeds are donated to the organ donation charities Donate Life America and the National Kidney Foundation of Florida.
Thank you so much for joining us on this interview series. Can you share with us the backstory that led you to this career path?
I have been fascinated by music for as long as I can remember. My earliest memories are colored by my favorite songs and what they made me feel. When I was 8 years old, I began taking vocal lessons and by age 10 I was performing as the lead in my first professional theatrical production. From there, I fell in love with musical theatre and have had the opportunity to perform at some of South Florida’s most prominent theatres: the Broward Center of the Performing Arts, the South Dade Cultural Arts Center, the Pompano Beach Cultural Center, the Adrienne Arsht Center, the Kravitz Center, and more. I entered my current university, the University of Miami, as a musical theatre major. That choice in major has since changed, as around the time of my debut single release (Dec 2020), I decided to focus more on commercial music production. I am now studying at the Frost School of Music, and I couldn’t be happier with the direction my career is going in.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that occurred to you in the course of your career? What was the lesson or takeaway you took out of that story?
I have had many interesting occurrences during my time as a performer, but there is always one that stands out in my mind. I played Belle in “Beauty in the Beast” at the All Kids Included Miami festival. This would be a first-time theater experience for many of the kids, some of whom had handicaps, including autism, physical ailments, and sensory disorders. When we gathered at the South Dade Cultural Arts Center for the rehearsal to make the show sensory-friendly, removing anything that could be perceived as violent, the director made the announcement that there would be no meet and greet in the lobby. He explained due to liability issues, the theater management did not want us to meet the audience because many of the children would be in wheelchairs and would have young siblings with them. They were concerned it would create a possible hazard where people could trip. I was disappointed, but of course, I understood. As the curtain fell, I found myself kneeling down waving till the very last second. I was so sad to see it end. As I opened the backstage door in the very bright May afternoon sun, I saw a large gathering of people and quickly scanned over their heads to see my parents standing at the back of the crowd. My mother mouthed the words to me “They’re all here to see you.” Momentarily puzzled, I looked at the eager faces before me. Children in wheelchairs, children holding onto their parent’s hands, babies, children with leg braces, little girls dressed as Belle clutching roses, all smiling. It was then, that this all had finally dawned on me. These children and their families had walked all the way around this immense complex and found the unmarked stage door. They had stood in the blistering South Florida heat, while I, unaware, had leisurely said goodbye to my cast and director. As I approached one little girl, her mother touched my arm and told me that her daughter was deaf but that she did read lips. As I knelt down to speak to her, her mother told me her daughter loved the show, saying, “She was able to enjoy your singing through the vibrations.” I struggled hard not to let any tears fall. By the time I had reached every child in the crowd, more than an hour had passed. As I take time to reflect on my unforgettable experience, the metaphor of the light that opened in front of me as I walked out of the backstage door to the joy, excitement, smiles, and greetings of my fans, made me recognize that I have been blessed with the gift of transforming lives using a language that we are all fluent in, the language of the performing arts. I will treasure the opportunity to pursue my life’s calling and work tirelessly and passionately to develop my talent and make a positive difference in the lives of everyone I am privileged to reach and share my world with.
What would you advise a young person who wants to emulate your success?
I would say to stay true to yourself and how you would want yourself to be portrayed. I know my core values and my personality, and I genuinely want to show those elements of myself to the world. There is nothing wrong with crafting an image or a brand, but when you alter yourself far too much — that’s when we lose sight of who we are. It is so important to be authentic and open about being your wonderful self. I would encourage anyone who is pursuing a career in this business to do so.
Is there a person that made a profound impact on your life? Can you share a story?
In addition to the several generous sponsors I have been lucky enough to collaborate with, I have been searching for an organ donation organization that I could really make an impact with. I found one such organization in the “Be More Foundation” which was founded by a kidney transplant recipient, Erin, and her altruistic donor, Breanna. Their goal is to spread organ donation awareness through the power of storytelling. After watching them on The Ellen Show, I had them on as guests on the “Silver Lining Show: Donation Inspiration” and from there we have decided to continue our collaboration to help get the message out to our audiences and beyond. I am so excited to now be a “Team Be More” Brand Ambassador, as this gives me the opportunity to discover and interact with more members of the organ donation community.
How are you using your success to bring goodness to the world? Can you share with us the meaningful or exciting causes you’re working on right now?
In 2020, the nation’s leading nonprofit for organ donation, Donate Life America, and I partnered to promote organ donation on a national level. This marks the first time in DLA’s history that they’ve officially partnered with a Miss America candidate. In addition to sharing my time with DLA, I realized that I could also utilize my vocal talent to bring attention to my social impact initiative. I decided to release a Christmas single, “Winter Wonderland” (released 12/14/20 and available on all streaming platforms) with 100% of the proceeds to benefit Donate Life America. That one single alone raised over $3,000 for DLA. My full album, “Joyfully, Juliette Valle” was fully released November 1, 2021, and will benefit DLA and the National Kidney Foundation of Florida. I am incredibly honored to be an official ambassador for all these organizations.
Can you share with us a story behind why you chose to take up this particular cause?
I grew up in a family with a father who is a nephrologist and a mother who is a transplant nurse, so I have seen firsthand just how hard a kidney transplant, or any transplant, can be to achieve. I’ve also witnessed the unbelievable joy that ensues when one is received and their life is saved as a result of someone else’s selfless act. This is what inspired me to create my social impact initiative “Life is Awesome, Pass it on” which has enabled me to promote the importance of organ donation and create incredible local, state, and national partnerships in an effort to save as many lives as possible.
Can you share with us a story about a person who was impacted by your cause?
There are currently 108,000 people in the United States waiting for a life-saving transplant and 82% are waiting for a kidney. Every 10 minutes another name is added to the list, and every day 22 people die while waiting- almost one person per hour. Additionally, 60% of people waiting for a transplant are minorities. My mission is to be a voice for transplant patients and become a valuable ally for them, helping to dispel myths that people believe about organ donation while raising money to donate to various transplant organizations.
Are there three things or are there things that individuals, society, or the government can do to support you in this effort?
Yes! The first and most powerful is to register to be an organ donor at registerme.org!!! You can learn more about the organ donation process there and what it means for your organs and body after you have passed on. The second would be to see if becoming a living organ donor is of interest to you. You can learn more about that opportunity and process at https://www.donatelife.net/types-of-donation/living-donation/. The third option, which is also the easiest and extremely helpful, is to share information or a story of donation that had an impact on you to your social media! Sharing positive stories and educating others on the process helps to inform the community and increase lives saved.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started”
- It’s a wonderful thing to be original and unique.
- Be authentic and relatable, you never know who you may impact.
- Find producers, coaches, and musicians you work with perfectly (and I did!).
- Choose music you are passionate about performing.
- Always hold yourself to the highest standard: in your image, the music you produce, and the way you impact people.
You’re a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
If given the opportunity to take “Life is Awesome, Pass it On” to the next level, I will continue to develop the alliances I have with the state and nation’s leading organ donation organizations and continue to scale my involvement with each. It is my dream to bring Florida, which is currently 26th in the country in terms of donation status, to the number one spot. I am confident that not only will I be able to educate thousands of individuals about the importance of organ donation through my work with Donate Life America, the National Kidney Foundation, and the Florida Renal Association, but I will leave a legacy of the importance of saving lives and being a selfless champion of change. For every one person that checks yes to be an organ donor, potentially 8 people will benefit. That type of ascendible impact has the ability to change the trajectory of thousands of lives for those on the registry, which to me, is the greatest gift of all.
Can you please give us your favorite life lesson quote? And can you explain how that was relevant in your life?
“Don’t mistake politeness for lack of strength.”- Sonia Sotomayor In this industry, there will be a lot of people who are going to try to push you around. Some of it may be malicious but the majority is just them taking the lead and driving with their expertise. Of course, you need to be polite, especially when you’re learning the ropes, but if someone wants to move in a direction that you’re not okay with, you need to be strong. I have a concrete idea of what I want for my album, my career, and my life. I assert myself when I need to and show my expertise and talent. Everyone should find a good balance with this.
We are blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
Judge Sotomayor is a figure that I admire very greatly. Appointed by President Obama in 2009, she is the first Hispanic and Latina member of the Court. As a young Hispanic woman who wishes to pursue a career related to politics, witnessing this kind of representation is incredibly inspiring to me. As a young girl born to low-income immigrant parents, Sotomayor did not have an easy upbringing. She went on to graduate from Princeton University and attended Yale Law School, where she was an editor for the Yale Law Journal (Yale being my graduate school dream). She, of course, rose above her tough childhood circumstances and excelled in her studies, but that is not what I admire most about her. What I admire most is that she never forgot who she was or what she lived through before attaining all of her success. She remained humble, hardworking, and ardently committed to serving our nation’s people in any way possible. As demonstrated in her quote, she understands that her role as a Supreme Court Justice has a profound effect on the everyday lives of American citizens. Knowing this, she takes great pride in her responsibilities and lives to serve. And while I may not be pursuing the exact same career track as her, I still look up to her for so many reasons: she is an incredibly intelligent and powerful woman who not only helps to increase the female demographic in politics, but she also brings Hispanic representation to the table (which is greatly lacking amongst political officials). Throughout her years of service, she has made an indisputable impact on this country, and I hope it is trailblazers like me that will go on to make her proud.
Thank you so much for these amazing insights. This was so inspiring, and we wish you continued success!
Music Stars Making A Social Impact: Why & How Vocalist Juliette Valle Is Helping To Change Our… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.