This article contains discussions of sexual assault.
Yasmin Kudrati-Plummer ’28 is best defined by her passion — a passion not restricted to any one thing but encompassing an incredible multitude of interests, experiences and activities. Specifically, she pursues her love for singing and songwriting along with gender-based violence activism, all while working toward a degree in psychology from the College of William and Mary.
Having grown up in Tanzania, her early life in East Africa was a defining experience.
“[Tanzania] is very much like home to my whole family,” Kudrati-Plummer said. “My mom met my dad there, so it’s very core to every single one of us.”
Kudrati-Plummer first discovered her passion for performing at a young age. She recalls writing her first song in elementary school, which became a point of creative pride and motivated her to keep making music.
“I remember the first song I wrote, still to this day,” Kudrati-Plummer said. “I wrote a song called ‘Love Is All You Need.’ Really basic and horrible, but it was like fifth grade or fourth grade. I don’t know. I was very young. I wrote it in a little book and I was really proud of myself. And then after that, it sort of just continued.”
From there, she branched into performing in her community theater, singing and playing piano.
Later in life, Kudrati-Plummer moved from Tanzania to Fairfax, Va. While the move was a shocking one, music kept her grounded throughout the transition, remaining a constant no matter where she lived.
After the move, her identity as a performer transformed as she began to focus more on her music. When she came to the United States, she began to take voice lessons and felt her singing voice improve dramatically.
“Suddenly, my voice was my strongest asset. And it was the thing I did more than anything else,” she said. “When I came to the U.S., that’s when it transitioned from me loving to sing to people asking me to sing.”
Kudrati-Plummer shared that she was a survivor of sexual assault in high school. She is very open about her experience, which has greatly influenced her music and recovery.
“I’m sort of trying to continue to write songs while I’m recovering from this experience that will hopefully emphasize what it feels like and how it is,” she said. “Unfortunately, so many people experience what I experienced, and I think it’s something that’s really hard to talk about. And I really want to use my voice for some good.”
One of her more popular songs, “Battered Wings,” discusses her feelings about the experience.
“[‘Battered Wings’ is] about how it feels to almost recover,” Kudrati-Plummer said. “Like being broken and battered and then leaving and trying to escape in the real world, and then falling down, and falling down, and then, finally, sort of escaping.”
Her forthcoming song, “Bird’s Eye View,” elaborates on this topic, explaining how she has been able to move past her assault and regain her sense of confidence and autonomy.
“The only two songs I think I would say I’m very proud of are the two songs ‘Battered Wings’ and ‘Bird’s Eye View,’ because they’re the songs that most came from my heart,” she said. “And it’s something that I will continue to want to write about. It’s my most charged experience. And I think because of that, it is something I am constantly wanting to write more about. I’m not done yet. I thought I was done after the first song, and then I was like, ‘I’m not recovered yet.’”
At the College, Kudrati-Plummer continues to focus on her music, while also pursuing a degree in psychology, another one of her greatest passions.
“[Psychology is] just something that I love to study,” Kudrati-Plummer said. “Like I enjoy studying it. I enjoy learning about it. I enjoy understanding the human brain. I’ve always wanted or considered being a therapist, a teacher or a lawyer, and I think psychology can sort of tie into all of those in different ways.”
While Kudrati-Plummer’s ultimate goal is to pursue music full-time, she understands the volatile and uncertain nature of the music industry. Therefore, she is choosing to pursue an academic subject that she loves in the meantime.
Kudrati-Plummer also serves in the Student Assembly as a class of 2028 senator. Her ties to student government began in high school, when she worked as student body president to increase sexual violence awareness in her school system.
“I realized that there were a lot of problems within the school system and within high schools about educating about assault, about helping students who had experienced gender-based violence,” she said. “And I just felt like there needed to be more.”
Kudrati-Plummer has continued sexual violence awareness work in SA. One project she hopes to accomplish during her time in the position is changing the name or acronym of Student Assembly to something other than “SA,” which she says can be a major trigger for victims of sexual assault, often shortened to the same acronym.
“I don’t think it’s reflective of Student Assembly’s goals or also the school to have a Student Assembly that is referred to as ‘SA,’” she said. “And personally, that’s something I’m really passionate about and I will be working on more.”
Now that she has found her footing in the organization, she plans on addressing this issue soon.
As for her music, Kudrati-Plummer continues working tirelessly to make singing her professional career. She is currently working on an upcoming album and regularly performs local gigs in the Virginia and Washington, D.C. area.
