Danielle Hill was born singing, she said, and earlier this month her 17 years of practice paid off. Hill, a senior at the District’s Duke Ellington School of the Arts, performed at a D.C. College Access Program talent contest and walked away with a $10,000 scholarship. The money will go toward her first year of college Virginia’s Shenandoah University, where she’ll study musical theater.

You performed in front of celebrity judges like Debbie Allen and Michael Bivins. Were you nervous?