Christ the King’s Miguel Villalobos earns music scholarship to The Catholic University of America
Miguel Villalobos visited The Catholic University of America campus on Acceptance Day in the spring of 2023. He has earned a music and academic scholarship to the university. (Photos provided) SALISBURY — Before Miguel Villalobos made his debut in this world, his parents were already nurturing his God-given talents.
“When I was pregnant with Miguel, my husband would sing a beautiful Spanish lullaby to him called ‘In the Name of the Father,’” Miguel’s mother Irasema Medrano recalls. “He had to sing it every day, or I couldn’t go to sleep at night.”
After Miguel was born, Medrano says she and her husband, Miguel Villalobos Sr., gave their son a toy karaoke microphone, and he began singing as soon as he could hold the toy at about five months old.
At first, Miguel would only sing at home, but with his mother’s encouragement, he broke through his shyness and began volunteering as a cantor at their parish, Sacred Heart in Salisbury.
Musical theater also piqued young Miguel’s interest, and he started his acting career with Sacred Heart School’s production of “Annie” in third grade. More recently, he has taken on lead roles in “Godspell” and “Shrek: The Musical” at Christ the King High School in Huntersville. His talents were recently recognized when he was chosen as one of the top-six best actor finalists for Blumenthal Performing Arts’ Blumey Awards in Charlotte.
This was icing on the cake to the news of his full scholarship to The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he will study vocal performance.
Miguel’s audition for the scholarship with the voice faculty at the university was an eye-opening experience for him.
“I’ve never had any vocal lessons or anything like that. I’ve always been self-taught,” he says. “This was the first time that I ever showed my tones to people outside North Carolina and my own little bubble here in Salisbury.”
Miguel sang “The Prayer” by Andrea Bocelli and “Caro Mio Ben” by Tommaso Giordani. After the audition, Rick Christman, a vocal performance professor at CUA, pulled him aside for an impromptu lesson and was impressed with his ability to take and apply direction.
“Miguel possesses an outstanding tenor voice and a fine understanding of the mind-body connection necessary to achieve a very sound vocal technique,” Christman says. “When coupled with his natural sensitive musicianship and beauty of sound, I believe Miguel can anticipate having a voice that will offer him a fine career as a professional singer. I very much look forward to working with him as a voice student.”
In addition to the music scholarship, Miguel earned an academic merit scholarship. With other awards and aid, his entire undergraduate tuition is covered – $54,000 per year for four years.
As his family and friends rally to help him raise an additional $20,000 for his room and board, Miguel says he is at peace knowing God will make it happen, realizing the Lord often brings the right people into your life at the right moment.
One such friend has been there for the Villalobos family since before Miguel was born: Father John Putnam.
Father Putnam met Miguel’s parents, originally from Mexico, when they were dating in their late teen years in Salisbury, and he later assisted with their wedding when he was pastor of Sacred Heart.
Miguel with his parents, Miguel Villalobos Sr. and Irasema Medrano, in 2022 after receiving the St. Thérèse of Lisieux Award for Journey in Faith and Sincere Belief at Christ the King High School in Huntersville.
“When Miguel came along and got closer to school age, I encouraged them to send him to Sacred Heart School,” Father Putnam explains. “He was a sweet little boy with a great deal of joy, and I knew that, without encouragement and assistance, his family would be unable to afford a Catholic education.”
Miguel’s mother, who is now a guidance counselor at Christ the King High School, notes the integral role Father Putnam has played in her children’s education and formation. He has been a consistent source of support through his encouragement to send Miguel and his twin sisters, Maya and Mia, to Sacred Heart and later to Christ the King, she says.
Father Putnam also says he is assisting the family in securing the necessary funding to cover Miguel’s room and board at CUA. He notes Miguel’s great accomplishment of receiving a full scholarship to the prestigious university as well as his spiritual gifts.
“Miguel always has a natural love for the faith and a heart to serve God in some way. As a young boy, he would often say he wanted to be a priest,” he recalls. “As a pastor, I always try to be reassuring and encouraging that God will show the way.”
During his junior year of high school, Miguel landed the role of a lifetime – playing Jesus in “Godspell,” a play based on the Gospel of Matthew.
“Playing Jesus was such a transformative role. It helped me become a good person,” he says, noting that the scene in the Garden of Gethsemane was particularly challenging.
“Backstage, I was in a corner contemplating that I’ve got to be ready for this. It was so tense being in that position of being about to die. That’s not an easy thing.”
Sarah Varricchio, the theater director at Christ the King, was impressed with the maturity Miguel brought to the role of Jesus and was moved by his performance throughout the production, noting his warmth, depth and talent.
“He’s probably one of the most faithful kids I’ve ever met, but not just faithful in, ‘I believe in the magisterium, and I go to confession and Mass,’” she says. “He is joyfully Catholic in the pure sense of the word. He has this smile that literally lights up the room, and he brings people to him, and encourages everyone to use the talents God has given them.”
With Miguel’s trust in God and faithful friends and family, it seems for him the sky is the limit.
“I envision myself like an Andrea Bocelli, a person who sings from the heart in front of thousands and millions of people,” he says. “Maybe that’s a little bit ambitious, but you have to place your dreams somewhere.”
When it comes to the music, he says, “I imagine myself singing in a way that will help people understand where they come from – from God – and to convey the message of the music itself. I want to use my voice to lift people up and evangelize.”
— Annie Ferguson
Hear Miguel sing
Hear Miguel Villalobos sing “Ave Maria” in a special performance for Catholic News Herald readers: