Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA) celebrated the extraordinary volunteer leadership and tremendous generosity of Mohamed El-Erian, Ph.D. and his family with a dedication ceremony for the newly named El-Erian Family Acting Conservatory. The event took place at the OCSA campus, in the Michael F. Harrah Symphony Hall in Santa Ana, Calif.
“Mohamed is a renowned economist, business leader, the President of Queens’ College at Cambridge University, and the most humble, generous, and kind-hearted person you will ever meet,” said President and CEO Teren Shaffer.
El-Erian is a former Acting Conservatory parent who has continued to be a strong advocate and champion of OCSA’s Artist Scholar Sponsorship Program, which supports more than 200 economically disadvantaged students whose families are living below the national poverty level.
His contributions have provided the financial support to fund the arts conservatory education for more than 400 students in need at OCSA, ensuring that those students benefit from the exact same experience as all other students. El-Erian has remained involved in the OCSA community as a member of the Foundation’s Board of Directors and Board of Governors. In addition, he was a keynote speaker when the first Creators & Innovators Speaker Series, “OC Meets the Global Economy” was launched in 2018.
“We are so grateful to Mohamed and the entire El-Erian family for their support, for their belief in OCSA, and for allowing us the opportunity to celebrate them.” Shaffer said.
The El-Erian Family Acting Conservatory Director John Walcutt thanked the El-Erian family by acknowledging the positive change they’ve made for OCSA students and the impact this conservatory has had in launching students toward their dreams.
Assistant Director Stephanie Dorian recognized El-Erian’s support over the years, and his contributions as a role model for generosity and gratitude, before introducing OCSA Acting Conservatory senior and Orange County Register’s 2020-2021 Artist of the Year, Ariyah Brown. In Brown’s touching introduction, she shared the life-changing effect that the world of acting has had on finding her voice and healing from trauma. “Dr. El-Erian, I wrote this poem for this special occasion and dedicate it to you,” Brown said before beginning a powerful performance of her original spoken-word poem.
Alumni Lorenzo Rangel-Santos took the stage to explain how a complex network of inspiration leads to a domino effect, or what he refers to as artistic multiplication — where everyone in the OCSA community plays a role in providing opportunities for students to create, inspire, and aim higher. Rangel-Santos expressed his personal appreciation for the Artist Scholar Sponsorship Program that allows for many artists to reach their full potential, and addressed El-Erian directly: “Your generosity yesterday, today, and tomorrow has a significant impact in the lives of OCSA’s young artists — more than you’ll ever know. And your impact, through Artistic Multiplication that I spoke about earlier, generates a chain reaction among the OCSA community that becomes atomic.”
El-Erian and his family, including his daughter and former OCSA student Samia, were brought to the stage by Founder Ralph Opacic, Ed.D. where several students presented a gift from the group, The El-Erian Family Acting Conservatory’s box of gratitude.
After a heartfelt message of appreciation from El-Erian, the event concluded with a happy birthday message from Shaffer and a well-harmonized “Happy Birthday” song performed by the students on stage and in the audience.