Singer-songwriter Connie Lim, better known as MILCK, held an intimate concert and storytelling show through Penn State’s Student Programming Association (SPA) on Monday.

The event was sponsored by Penn State’s Gender Equity Center. Lim was invited to share her empowering story and experiences of domestic violence with the Penn State community.

She initially rose to fame when a video of her song, “Quiet,” went viral in 2017 following the Women’s March in Washington, D.C. The clip accumulated 11 million views, and the song has been sung by choirs all over the world. In addition, she earned a Billboard award for top protest song of the year and signed a deal with Atlantic Records.

Lim’s journey to songwriting and performing began when she was just 6 years old. She said she’d use music as a way to express the things that she could not explain or talk about in her day-to-day life. Sometimes, she would even write to make herself the hero in her own narrative.

“I make art to bring awareness of things, so I identify as an advocate,” Lim said.

Lim continued and said she encountered many struggles growing up, such as both of her parents immigrating from China and being at the forefront of racist remarks, as well facing adversity being a woman of color in an already-tough music industry.

“I knew it was going to be an uphill battle because I didn’t see anyone like me,” Kim said. “I was told to go back to China. I was told Asian people were not cool enough to be musicians.”

She then took those hardships and poured a majority of her time and energy into helping others.

“Now, I focus more on my craft and what the purpose of me exerting energy is,” Lim continued, “If I’m going to exert energy to perform tonight or to speak tonight, what is this about? Is it about me or Domestic Violence Awareness month, or connecting with human beings?”

She said her two main focuses now are her domestic violence campaign, I Can’t Keep Quiet, as well as Someone’s Beloved, which was founded after the death of Breonna Taylor to bring attention to systemic racism and racial justice.

As she said previously, Lim calls herself an advocate. She then indulged in her resources through Atlantic Records and said half of her team works on social justice initiatives, while the other half focuses on music. She says it’s more about representation and getting these stories out into the world rather than only acting as though she is helping.

At the end of the lecture, Lim turned the conversation onto the audience and asked questions to the crowd. This allowed for an opportunity to share any personal struggles or just share attendees’ thoughts and opinions out loud. MILCK said she learns the most by hearing from other people, and the Penn State community did just that.