He moved to the US just before the pandemic shut down everything
Ategeka immigrated to the US from his homeland in Uganda in late 2000s to attend the University of California, Berkeley. He left Helms with his mother in
the western Ugandan town of Fort Portal, where he lived until he joined his father in California five years ago.
Soon after Helms came to the US in 2019, the world largely shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. He attended his new school via Zoom and missed out on a big part of interacting with others and learning the nuances of American culture. As a result, he wasn’t sure his college applications would resonate or meet a lot of the requirements, he says.
“I gave it my all with the application process. I reached out to the schools to make sure that they’ve received my application and made sure I gave my essays my best shot. But I did not expect so many schools to say yes, so I was not prepared,” Helms says.
His modern drama teacher, Ricky Lapidus, is not surprised that Helms has received so many offers.
“Helms loves learning — he’s interested in other people as much as he is in grades,” says Lapidus, head of the Upper School at Head-Royce High School. “He is a deeply empathetic person and that’s how he approaches school — how do I learn more so I can understand others more? What makes him stand out for a college is a combination of his brains, sure, but also his joy and willingness to explore new things.”
He used his father’s words against him
Helms spent the past few months studying the websites and social media accounts of schools that accepted him.
He’s watched videos of their music programs on YouTube and TikTok to get a sense of where he fits in. And most importantly, he’s had candid conversations with his father about the realities of a career in music.
Helms and his dad Christopher Ategeka were born in Uganda and relocated to California.
Courtesy Christopher Ategeka
“As an immigrant parent, I was thinking, ‘How are you going to pay your bills?’ But he’s a driven kid … and he used my words against me,” Ategeka says.
Through this process, Ategeka says he realized he was viewing his son’s academic quest through what he describes as an “African immigrant mentality” that prioritizes certain lucrative careers as markers of success.
“I always tell him that he can be whatever he wants to be and can do anything he puts his mind to. And he was like, ‘Yeah, this is what I really want to do.’”
Ategeka says he’s slowly been embracing his son’s dream to study music and become a pop singer. He says he still worries about his future, because he knows how difficult it is to become famous enough to earn a living from your talent.
But he admires Helms’ determination and focus, as does his mother in Uganda. Chris Ategeka says his son proved he’s serious about a music career by getting accepted to so many colleges.
“He is really highlighting the idea that he’s not a kid who is failing out of school or running away from home to live in the subway to make the music thing work,” Ategeka says.
“He’s sent the message that, ‘I know I’m smart. I got the grades. I can get into college. I can do whatever I want. But this is my passion, this is my drive, this is what I chose.”
His college choice has a connection to his dad
After months of research, Helms made his choice: He will stay nearby and study music at his dad’s alma mater, UC Berkeley. A spokesperson for Berkeley confirmed that he’s been accepted.
“I created a spreadsheet, and I wrote out the pros and the cons for each of the schools and really tried to weigh my priorities,” he says. “If I would like to be close to home, what kind of program each school has or doesn’t have, that kind of stuff.”
Watching social media videos of the schools’ concerts and other musical events revealed the quality and diversity of the programs offered, which helped in making his decision, he says. Videos of musical events at Berkeley had a certain joie de vivre, he says, which helped him see himself there. The school also has a wide variety of musical programs, including African music ensembles and a brass quintet.
As an immigrant, Helms is part of a growing demographic. Children born abroad or in the US to an immigrant parent accounted for 58% of the increase in the nation’s college enrollment between 2000 and 2018,
a study by the Migration Policy Institute shows. “The face of US higher education is changing,” the study says. “Students are more likely to come from immigrant families than in the past.”
Helms’ new chapter comes at a precarious time for US colleges and universities as Berkeley and other schools grapple with the aftermath of pro-Palestinian student protests that have led to disruptions, arrests and debates about the limits of free speech.
But Ategeka says his son’s journey has reminded him to be open to new possibilities and ways of thinking. He believes Helms will find appropriate ways to be a part of difficult campus conversations.
“College is not about conforming to status quo … it is ground zero for training leaders who shape the future. It is in college that the young minds rethink the old and build the new for humanity and our planet,” he says.
Helms is excited to follow in his father’s footsteps at Berkeley,
which has an admission rate of about 12%. Of the nearly 126,000 students who applied in fall of 2023, only about 15,000 were accepted.
But most importantly, he says, he’s looking forward to taking the next step toward being a professional musician.
Someone tell this kid music is dead and theres AI..we need doctors and engineers, not more pop stars.
, I'm sure he will do something in music if he keeps that determination
