Inspirations from Kinnik Sky: Entrepreneur Lecture
On April 13, Kinnik Sky delivered an inspirational and reflective talk to our campus community and students. During her presentation, Kinnik, originally from Colombia, South Carolina, recounted how she learned early in her life that if she wanted to progress, she would need to create her own opportunities—a mantra she still embraces today. Throughout her career, Kinnik has enjoyed a remarkable journey in which she acknowledges evolving herself as a walking brand and learning to sell herself in order to be recognized. One of her guiding principles is that greatness is the other side of fear. During her talk, Kinnik encouraged her audience to step outside their fears to discover their greatness.
Kinnik’s father wanted her to become a nurse, but she realized that her heart was in entertainment. Upon her father’s passing, she moved to Los Angeles for a change of scenery and a new outlook on life. Kinnik started her own theatre, performing the functions of writer, producer, and actress. She says that process taught her the value of relying on people with specific areas of expertise for help. Her first project received 7 NAACP awards nominations. Kinnik won the award for Best Actress for that play.
To deal with life’s ups and downs, Kinnik taught herself to engage in daily encouragement and positive affirmations. One of her inspirational tips is to record uplifting voice messages to yourself. They boost your mood when all else looks bleak.
Kinnik is highly driven by the opportunity to make people feel and think and sees this as the path to progress in life. She encourages all her students to focus on doing what they would do if they were millionaires.
She also warned about the dangers of impostor syndrome—that feeling that you’re the wrong person for a job and will let others down. She admits that she learned a lot by tagging along with others and that she found doors opening when she made herself accessible to learning. She credits this openness with her success in earning a position as an acting coach at the ABC network.
Kinnik advised her audience to be mindful of their self-talk—that we have the ability to make or break ourselves. Aside from being a writer, producer, director, actress, and acting coach, Kinnik is the founder of The Sky Academy, a non-profit organization created to introduce at-risk youth to off-camera career opportunities in the entertainment business.
Still fully on her path toward further development and discovering new opportunities, Kinnik Sky’s career includes some truly admirable peaks. She is a former finalist on “American Idol” and a veteran stage performer. She is the CEO of the production company Dazzal Mi (pronounced: dazzle me) Entertainment, which has garnered 11 NAACP Theatre nominations and 7 wins. Most notable in that regard are Kinnik’s win for Best Female Lead Actress and nomination for Best Playwright. Most recently, she was the on-set acting coach for ABC’s comedy “Mixed-ish” Seasons 1 and 2, as well as Disney’s remake of the hit movie “Cheaper by the Dozen.”
Last Updated on May 6, 2022.