Described by Medium’s Edward Sylvan as a “rising music star” and “dazzling,” sophomore popular music performance student, Wallis Schriver — aka WALLIS — is a powerhouse of disco-rock pop. WALLIS spends her time improving her craft by performing off and on campus, including when she opened for popular music performance and music industry student Sawyer Rabin at Tirebiter Brewery Sept. 13.

Before coming to USC, WALLIS found her love of performing in community theater. At 12, she auditioned for and was cast in a professional production of “Annie” in Philadelphia. Her background in drama now fuels her characteristic theatricality.

As WALLIS grew up, music became an outlet for her, especially during the coronavirus quarantine.

“I wrote a song called ‘Lonely Christmas’ when I was 15, and I put it out in December of 2020,” WALLIS said. “It blew up because someone posted it on Reddit, and then Ellen DeGeneres eventually got to it and reposted it on her Twitter and Instagram.”

After feeling overwhelming support online from her holiday hit, WALLIS continued to refine her skills before eventually setting her sights on USC’s popular music program, specifically for the “profoundly talented” faculty. However, WALLIS initially felt some nerves and intimidation due to the caliber of talent around the school.

On the first day of class, she recalled performing in front of her classmates and professors and feeling terrified. However, as she’s performed more and more off-campus and in pop showcases at Tommy’s Place, her sense of belonging in the program has grown. WALLIS also emphasized how instrumental the support of her fellow Thornton School of Music students has been.

“I’m so lucky because they are like my favorite people on Earth, and we’re like a family,” she said.

The feeling is clearly mutual among WALLIS’ cohort within the popular music major. Fellow popular music performance student and sophomore Asher Belsky described WALLIS as “incredibly creative” and “a joy to be around,” while sophomore popular music student Alex Harris emphasized that she is “super talented.”

The popular music community within Thornton has opened WALLIS up to what she could be capable of, thanks to the collaborative environment that she and her cohort have established.

“If I’m struggling in class, or if they want help with a song, or if they need harmonies, or if they need anything, we’re all there for each other,” she said.

She also emphasized her cohort has avoided the competitiveness of the greater music industry thanks to the mutual understanding that each of them can “bring something different to the table.”

This sense of collaboration changed the way WALLIS approaches songwriting as an individual artist; whether it’s looking at the chords she can write, the structure of her music or the amount of elements she can add, she feels like she’s grown as an artist while at USC.

Within the pop community on campus, some of WALLIS’ collaborators find themselves equally rewarded when working with her.

“I think WALLIS is the kind of person who, because she is such a fun, loving and bright person, she’s able to translate that into her art and into her writing,” said Nolan Heilman, a sophomore majoring in popular music performance.

With the intimidation factor out of the way, WALLIS is now focusing on building her vocabulary as an artist to better communicate with her band. As collaborative artists, she said Thornton helps students develop their ability to know what they want from an entire band of instrumentalists rather than solely focusing on what they are capable of as individuals.

“Being able to have the right form of communication to tell my band what I’m looking for and what I want to hear in my shows and in my music, that’s the biggest thing that I’m trying to hone,” she said.

With the supportive culture of Thornton in place and the talent that WALLIS already possesses, she certainly has a bright future ahead of her, not only at USC but also as an individual artist.

“I have so much to learn,” WALLIS reflected, “and I think that’s been the beauty of being at school here. It’s given me a whole new perspective on the amount of knowledge I can gain.”