Brandon Schroeder
Sports Editor

    From playing soccer to writing songs, senior Donald Asumani can do it all. A three-year R.J. Reynolds soccer player and a member of the D. BOYS, a small music group Asumani made with his friends, Asumani has always been interested in expanding his horizons and interests. He felt that all of his involvement has allowed him to become a well-rounded student here at RJR.

    “I’ve been able to make memories and make new friends,” Asumani said. “It has allowed me to feel like I belong here.”

    Growing up in Tanzania for the first decade of his life, Asumani got to explore the idea of playing for a soccer team when he attended Wiley Middle School. Ultimately, Asumani’s passion for the sport grew and made him want to try to play for the RJR soccer team.

    “Playing for the team was a lot of fun,” Asumani said. “We traveled to Georgia and beat a team 9-0. We had dinner together and those are memories I will keep with me forever.”

    Asumani also further enjoyed his senior season in soccer when the RJR soccer team upset the #1 team in the state, West Forsyth. 

    “That was a fun game,” Asumani said. “Everybody was locked in because we knew that we could win the game.”

   Outside of playing on the soccer field, Asumani has been exploring his songwriting hobby. His passion for songwriting has only grown from the music he has heard.

    “I’ve always had an interest in music,” Asumani said. “My mom would always be singing while she was cooking. My sister would be in her room listening to music. From the day I picked up a guitar, I was in love, and I felt that I should just start creating my own music.”

    Asumani’s songwriting led to him creating a music group known as the D. BOYS. Asumani created the group with his friend Baras, where they wrote and produced music together. While currently inactive, Asumani would be interested in starting the group back up.

    “We’ve been busy outside of music with family and school,” Asumani said. “I loved being able to come together and collaborate with other people on music, so the group was really fun.”

    Asumani’s songwriting process is different from what you might expect from a typical songwriter. He focuses on trying to fully captivate his audience whenever he is writing a song. 

    “Most of the songs I write are based off of where I am,” Asumani said. “I might see the leaves falling and people enjoying sitting down, so I would try to write a song about that moment.”

    Recently, Asumani got accepted into the North Carolina Music Educator’s Association’s Singer/Songwriter and Music Producer Showcase for his songwriting. Proud of his accomplishment, Asumani admitted it did have its obstacles.

    “For the submission, I had to write a song in English, which I had never done before,” Asumani said. “All my songs before had been in my first language of Swahili so it was definitely something new.”

    While Asumani has enjoyed writing songs, it isn’t something that he wants to do for a career. He hopes to continue songwriting whenever he has free time.

    “It’s just something nice to be able to do when I’m stressed or need a break,” Asumani said. “I want to continue doing it for as long as I can because it’s something I love.”