Humans of Hofstra: Brianna Fernandez

“I recently had the opportunity to sing at a Rangers game. I’ve been singing for as long as I can remember – I have always loved to sing. When my sister was a baby, I used to put on concerts for her. I started taking voice lessons when I was 11. I did a few of the plays when I was in middle school and I tried out for X-Factor when I was 13, but I didn’t make it. My dad was part of the NYPD before he passed away and they have this organization called the Widows and Children Fund with the Garden of Dreams Foundation. The Garden of Dreams Foundation is an organization that focuses on creating once in a lifetime experiences for kids who have gone through some rough times. Within a year of my dad passing, I got an email from the fund saying that they have auditions for this talent show so I auditioned, and I got to sing at the talent show hosted at Radio City, which was incredible. Ever since then I’ve been a part of the organization. They invite me to sing at the talent show every year and they’ve asked me to be an artistic ambassador for the talent show – it’s my second year doing that. Last month, they called me and told me that the Rangers were doing a Hockey Fights Cancer night and they invited me to sing the national anthem at the game. I was like, ‘OK!’ What am I going to do? Say no? I’m a huge hockey fan, I’ve always loved the Rangers, especially because my dad and I used to watch the games all the time, and it holds a really big place in my heart to be able to mix my love of singing and my love for the Rangers. It was just an incredible experience.”