Combining Faith, Music and Economics: Brandon Edwards ‘16

During his time as an economics student at the University of Maryland, Brandon Edwards ’16 came up with his own personal recipe for success:

“I learned that in order to match the demand of my potential I must change my supply,” Edwards explained. “We must be supplied with three things: faith, vision and a journey of action.”

With these things in mind, Edwards, who was selected as the Department of Economics Commencement speaker this spring, is on a mission to improve faith-based music, providing today’s audiences with the transparency and quality that he feels this generation desires.

Though Edwards knows that he wants to someday own a church music consulting company and eventually a faith-based production company, pinpointing his exact dream job is not nearly as simple:

“My dream career is one I make up,” Edwards said. “I feel like our generation is a generation of Ben Franklins--we are multi-talented, multi-faceted and multi-career type people and I don’t want to limit myself to one type of career.”

Taking things one step at a time, Edwards interned at the NeoAge Showcase, an event held at The Howard Theatre to feature Soul and R&B in the DMV area, and started his own church music consulting company after taking one of his favorite undergraduate courses.

“I really enjoyed working on my business with a group of like-minded people,” Edwards explained. “It was very challenging to keep everything together but it was so rewarding. I actually got to make an impact on people’s lives.”

Next year, Edwards will return to the University of Maryland to help better the creative culture of the university’s Campus Crusade for Christ (Cru), an international college ministry with a branch located on campus.

“I am hoping to create a space where these young people feel safe enough to come in and discuss their faith and life, both in struggle and in triumph,” Edwards said. “I want to see them move into a more positive space mentally, emotionally and spiritually, and one of the many paths to accomplish this goal is to create a better creative arts climate through music, spoken word, poetry and writing.”

“I am in the business of helping people become a better version of themselves and this is an opportunity to advance that gift,” Edwards said.

Edwards’ ambitions do not end there as he plans to eventually return to UMD to pursue an MBA from the Robert H. Smith School of Business.

“The greatest lessons of economics taught me more about life than they did about the course material,” Edwards explained. “In the classroom I learned about opportunity cost, supply and demand, and the financial climate of the world, but those lessons translated into life principles such as time management and how to apply myself in my job and in my personal life. I will take these basic life lessons and apply them to my future aspirations."

To those still seeking to understand how they can capitalize on all that they have to offer, Edwards offers this advice:

“Step out of your comfort zone. Take intentional steps to do the things that scare you the most. Your fear whispers in your ears day and night. It’s time you shout back at it by having some faith, casting some vision and taking continuous action. Admittedly, this is easier said than done, but I believe that a life worth living is one that pushes you beyond your fears.”

Published on Mon, Jun 13, 2016 - 3:11PM