Baton Rouge’s Taleya Jordan Named Paliwal Club of 100 Music Scholar by 1,000 Dreams Fund

Taleya Jordan, a music therapy student at Louisiana State University from Baton Rouge, has been selected as a Paliwal Club of 100 Music Scholar by 1,000 Dreams Fund (1DF), a national nonprofit that provides scholarships, mentorship and career opportunities to talented young women and students in need.

“Music has always been the way I connect with people, and music therapy is how I want to do that for the rest of my life. Being named a Paliwal Music Scholar tells me the work I’m doing matters, and I’m so grateful for the support,” Jordan said.

The Paliwal Club of 100 Scholars Program, made possible by the Ila and Dinesh Paliwal Foundation, supports women pursuing degrees in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) and music. Through scholarship funding and ongoing community, the program helps recipients pursue creative and technical work that traditional funding sources often overlook. Past Paliwal Scholars have gone on to careers in research, education, professional performance and music therapy, joining a growing community of 1DF alumnae shaping the next decade of women’s leadership across STEAM and the arts.

Jordan’s selection comes as 1DF celebrates its 10-year anniversary in 2026, a milestone marking a decade of investment in talented young women through scholarships, mentorship and other critical resources. Since launching in 2016, 1DF has distributed more than $1.1 million in funding to dreamers across 41 states and 10 countries, with past scholars going on to careers in research, education, professional performance and therapeutic practice. As 1DF works toward its Vision 2030 goal of reaching 50,000 dreamers, Jordan joins the next generation of scholars the Paliwal Club of 100 Scholars Program was built to launch.

“When I started 1DF nearly 10 years ago, the dream was always to back young women like Taleya — students with real talent and real determination who just need someone to invest in what comes next. Watching this organization grow from a handful of scholarships to a decade of impact, and now to scholars like Taleya stepping into the kinds of creative and therapeutic careers that change lives, is exactly why we built 1DF. She represents the next chapter of this work, and we couldn’t be prouder to welcome her into our community of dreamers,” said Christie Garton, founder and CEO of 1,000 Dreams Fund.

About 1,000 Dreams Fund

1,000 Dreams Fund (1DF) is a national nonprofit that empowers the dreams of talented women and students in need with scholarships, mentorship and other critical resources. 1DF believes that big obstacles should never stand in the way of big dreams. Since its launch in 2016, over $1.1 million in funding has been granted to talented young women in need, helping them pay for the “extras” in school like study abroad, tech devices for the classroom and travel to conferences and seminars. 1DF has been featured in NBCNews.com, USA Today, MarketWatch, Forbes, Huffington Post, Chicago Tribune, Entrepreneur, TODAY and others. To learn more about 1DF, visit 1000dreamsfund.org.