Student spotlight: Mykel Perdue
Abigail Welch, Staff Writer
Source Officialdarienscott
Students come from near and far to pursue their dreams here at North Greenville University, and the same holds true for broadcast media major, Mykel Perdue.
Growing up in Atlanta, Perdue has been surrounded by music his whole life. His entire family is active in music. You either sing or play an instrument, or sometimes both. Thanksgiving and other holiday get togethers at the Perdue house involves at least 20 minutes of singing and music before the main event begins.
His best friend’s dad, who lives in Atlanta, owns a recording studio and Perdue has been recording his personal music, under the name of Darien Scott, since the sixth grade.
Perdue shared the story of the day his mother found out that he could sing. “She freaked out when she found out I could sing. One day she was preparing for something at church. The guy who was going to lead us in song called to say he was sick, and while she was on the phone, I started singing the song in the back of the car. She called my grandmother and long story short, I lead the church in song that day.”
His mother also wanted him to learn piano, but when he was young, he didn’t care for it. As time passed, he decided to learn the skill and now is grateful for the opportunity.
Originally, Perdue wasn’t going to attend college. His plan was to chase his dream of music in Atlanta. When he was talking with his high school band teacher about his plan, the teacher shared his testimony of his time at NGU. After their conversation, Perdue looked up the university, set up a visit and within two weeks, had toured the campus. “I went with North Greenville because it was chill, unlike Atlanta, the big city. [It was] opposite of what I knew.”
The feeling of community at NGU is Perdue’s favorite part of attending school here. “In the city, everyone is doing their own thing, but here it’s more community minded. If I have an issue back in Atlanta, I can call on family. But that’s about it. People in Atlanta are more selfish, while here I have multiple people I can call on if I need help spiritually or otherwise.”
As a junior here at NGU, Perdue has already left his mark on the campus. He and fellow student Thomas Grindell, “Tom Tom”, started a band known as Urbanwood. The band was created because they didn’t see diversity and stylistic differences in worship music on campus and they wanted to bring something different to the table.
Technically, Urbanwood has been around for a little over a year, but “we are just now getting up and around and functioning well, about a semester now,” said Perdue. You can see Urbanwood perform in chapel or you can find them on Instagram or Spotify as Urbanwood the Movement.
Ideally, not exactly when he graduates, but in time, Perdue wants to continue his dream in music “whatever that means” and to keep growing with Urbanwood. Those are the two things in his life he’s most passionate about right now. “I like being around creative people. I’m not sure if that’s a business but building [people] up and watching them grow…I just want to help creative believers and help with artistic development.”
