DWSA acting major finds creative outlets while excelling academically

Nasma Mohammed, a senior acting major at Denzel Washington School of the Arts, maintains a 4.0 GPA and has accomplished remarkable things personally and academically during her time at the school. She has been on the principal’s honor roll, with an average over 95%, for every marking period of high school and has been involved in many of the school’s performances.

Nasma acts at DWSA and has been in a number of plays. She has been in different types of productions ranging from Shakespeare to the more modern “Mean Girls.” Her first play at DWSA was “Raisin in the Sun,” which she says challenged her because she had to play an older character. 

“I like challenging myself,” said Nasma. “I don’t like doing the same thing over and over again. If I’m playing happy in this one, next time maybe I’ll play a more sad character.” 

Through acting, dancing and other performances, she has consistently found success in different creative outlets. She also started the step team at DWSA last year. They started practicing again for this school year two weeks ago, and she coaches the team.

“It’s really fun,” said Nasma. “It’s just a different experience. It’s different when you’re the coach as opposed to being a member on the team.”

As of the first marking period this year, her lowest grade was a 90%. She is currently taking two Advanced Placement (AP) courses: AP Government and Politics and AP Literature and Composition. She enjoys AP Literature and Composition because she already writes often on her own time by journaling and creating poetry to express herself.

Nasma is involved in her community as a member and community ambassador for the Ready4Life Program, which supports youth social-emotional development, relationship building and the transition to young adulthood. The program is led by the Mount Vernon Youth Bureau. 

Her community involvement continues at school, where she has been her class’s president since 10th grade. Her greatest accomplishment was organizing the Halloween movie night, which raised significant funds for the senior class. This money will go toward senior activities such as prom and the senior trip to decrease the cost for each student. 

Nasma also helps out at school by handing out fliers, supporting other school activities and helping other students. She also provides support to her family at home and believes that it is a part of her nature to help people. She hopes to become wealthy enough in the future to significantly help people in need, such as by building shelters. 

So far, she has been accepted to SUNY Oneonta and the American Musical Dramatic Academy. She is undecided about where she will attend and plans to pursue an acting career. She is open to roles in different types of media, but she envisions herself getting her start on Broadway before moving to other types of roles. 

“I think it’s another form of expression for me,” said Nasma when asked why she wants to pursue acting. “I like the release of it all – you get to leave everything else behind and you become the character. I think it’s a good way to put yourself in other people’s shoes and really get an awareness of the world around you and why people might react in the way that they do.”

Academically, Nasma prides herself in her success and feels that all the hard work is worth it when she sees the results on her report card. Through her rigorous studies, creative expression and community service, she has made a great impact at DWSA and the Mount Vernon community.