Nailah Ware ’26 is creating a more equitable community through knowledge acquisition and intentional action.
Music is the language of choice for Nailah Ware ’26, and she plans to use it to create something more than a hit single. Peace and equity are her goals. “Music is a language I can speak fluently,” she says. “Not math, which is another universal language, or anything else; it’s music.”
Nailah was always drawn to rhythms and found herself writing lyrics in her diary. Even though she had trouble focusing for long periods of time, she never grew tired of music. After playing a few instruments, she settled on alto saxophone. She loved the sound of it. Her talent led her to a magnet school for performing and visual arts just outside her hometown of Crofton, Maryland. Through her love of music, she learned how beats were produced.
“I didn’t know what music production was,” says Nailah, “but as I read books and watched documentaries on Dr. Dre and Eminem, I knew that’s what I wanted to do.”
At Elon, Nailah majors in music production and recording arts and minors in business administration. She wants to use her record label to create equity in the music industry. “I love creating music and I want to help increase artists’ understanding of the business side,” she says.
She’s already putting her mission into practice. As a first-year student, Nailah started a hip-hop performance group, Limitless Productions. The group hosted its first show in McKinnon Hall in March 2023, performing original music in front of an audience of about 170 people. Nailah says there were challenges, but the group was determined because it was more than just showcasing music. “Limitless provides a place for diversity and equity for expression, and all are welcomed,” she says.
Nailah also participated in Elon’s Campus Alamance, interning with United Way last summer. She gained critical knowledge about business tax filings and has been able to share what she learned with community organizations. Growing up, Nailah says, she wasn’t involved in her community, something she is changing now.
“I’m not the only person who doesn’t know the ins and outs of taxes, and how filing companies and software take advantage of that,” she says. “I have to share this knowledge with my community.”
Like two of Elon’s inclusive excellence pillars, paradigm and praxis, knowledge acquisition and intentional action are Nailah’s foundation to creating a more equitable community. “I want people to know they aren’t alone, while generating peace and equity,” says Nailah.
Nailah is part of Huemanity of People, a series by the Division of Inclusive Excellence that celebrates the diversity of Elon’s community. Nominate a member of the Elon community for this series.