Â鶹ӰԺ

Brooke Murray credits music with giving her life back.

The singer was six when she suffered a vicious dog attack. The mauling left severe scars, leading Murray to be bullied when she finally returned to school. She turned to singing and choir as a haven— and regained her confidence.

Now she wants to provide that same sanctuary for others, by funding voice lessons for low-income students. Her organization—Sing It Forward—uses a pay-it-forward model: Parents pay for their own child’s lessons and chip in a little extra to help support another child’s as well.

Murray presented her nonprofit to CU Â鶹ӰԺ’s entrepreneurial competition, the New Venture Challenge. Judges chose her as a runner-up and awarded her $1,000. Her idea sparked serious interest from the crowd—before the evening ended, Murray received a total of $14,000 in outside donations. Murray Ìýgraduated in May 2016 with a BA in music.