First-year Sun Devil doesn’t settle for one form of art

Aaliyas Thompson was the first student at Vista Grande High School in Casa Grande, Ariz.,  to direct a play, and he is now developing his artistic and creative abilities at the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts. Thompson is a first-year student majoring in filmmaking practices.

“I chose to attend ASU because of the unique opportunities they provided for creatives at the Herberger Institute as well as the great experiences I had at the César Chávez Leadership Institute program,” he said.

First-year Sun Devil Aaliyas Thompson

In high school, Thompson was part of the César E. Chávez Leadership Institute, an ASU summer program that offers an unforgettable leadership experience for high school students. Through CCLI, he made connections with other students in the program and fine-tuned his leadership skills. 

“While I was aware of César Chávez prior to applying, I didn’t truly know the scope of his impact and lasting contributions until being educated through the program. On top of that, I had never performed a song I had created until CCLI held a talent show that I decided to be a part of,” Thompson said.

Thompson uses a digital audio workstation to produce alternative hip-hop music. He’s also working on learning more instruments so that he can advance his songwriting.  

“I wanted to write lyrics to go with instrumentals, but didn’t know anyone at the time who could make them for me, so I learned to make them myself,” he said.

As a high school senior, Thompson directed the musical play “Barefoot in the Park.” Though this was his first time directing, Thompson has lots of experience with the performing arts. He has experience in singing, acting, creating music, script writing and voice acting. 

“I loved every bit of [directing the play], not to say that I wasn’t constantly running around to make sure everything would be near perfect. Since I had only done acting prior to that point, it was a very new and helpful experience learning how to navigate that different world and direct the people I’d usually be on stage with,” Thompson said.

His love for writing and directing in particular led Thompson to choose filmmaking practices as his major. This semester, he has particularly enjoyed learning from his new film professors. He’s also looking into joining several film clubs at ASU. 

Although his academic focus has shifted to writing and directing, Thompson is still committed to creating new music.  His inspiration comes from creators such as Barry Jenkins, Donald Glover, Noname, Troy Baker and Tyler, the Creator.

“If anyone wants to listen to some of my music, I just released a two-song project,” he said. 

Look up Thompson on Spotify, and follow his path by applying for CCLI.