Nothing, including apartment fire, can stop Austin Peay graduate from following dreams
(Posted on Monday, Feb. 28, 2022)
Austin Peay State University and dance team alumna Kyrstin Young made big plans to move to Atlanta after graduation to kickstart her professional dancing career. Not too long after moving, Young’s plans took a sudden turn.
Young’s apartment caught fire, leaving her and her two roommates without a home.
“Everyone made it out alive, and nobody was hurt,” Young said. “I’m taking it day by day.”
Young’s former Austin Peay dance team coach, Kaitlyn McArthur, organized a Go Fund Me campaign to raise money for Young.
APSU alumna continues to thrive
Nothing, including a fire, can stop Young from following her dreams.
Since graduating in 2021 with a business management degree, Young has been hard at work training and working for the perfect opportunity.
Her most recent and biggest gig was as a backup dancer for popular music artist Da Baby.
“I got a call at midnight from one of my dance friends in Nashville,” Young said. “He asked if I was available the next day to dance with Da Baby at his show. I couldn’t believe what he was saying! It felt so good to be on stage again and I had so much fun!”
Young stays busy with her training and work schedule. Each week, she tries to take multiple dance classes to build on her technique.
“Sometimes I’m only able to take one class a week, but other times I take three or four,” Young said. “I like to take as many as possible.”
#KreateYou
While Young was a junior at Austin Peay, she created the hashtag “#KreateYou,” which played a significant role in her life.
“All throughout college, I had a really hard time trying to figure out who I was as a person,” Young said. “I had trouble standing in who I was because of some of the things I compared myself to.”
Young used the hashtag on her Instagram where she posts dance and choreography videos for her followers. Using this hashtag, Young was able to inspire her audience members and encourage people from all walks of life.
“#KreateYou is a hashtag that allows people to be authentically them with no judgment,” Young said.
Inspiring followers, one post at a time
Young’s large following on Instagram has helped her develop a platform on which she can inspire dancers of all ages.
“I hope people are inspired by my experience and accomplishments,” Young said. “I want people to know that they are capable of doing anything as long as they keep at it and truly work for it.”
Young thanks Austin Peay for teaching her how to stay organized during the chaos. While Young was still a student at APSU, she juggled being a student, athlete, choreographer and dancer as well as her success writing two books and creating a film all at the same time.
“Staying so busy with things happening all at the same time forced me to sit down, focus and stay organized,” Young said.
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