Daily Inspiration: Meet Schyler O’neal

Today we’d like to introduce you to Schyler O’neal

Hi Schyler, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My journey at the GRAMMY Museum began in 2009 when my aunt brought me to the museum as a surprise. From a young age my family recognized my passion and gift for music as I was always writing songs and loved to perform. Since I lived at my grandma’s house in my earlier years with my mom, two sisters, two cousins, two aunts, grandma, and grandpa, who I called pops, I had a built-in audience. My family has always shown support for my interest in music and when my aunt brought me to the GRAMMY Museum for the first time, she did so to keep me inspired. I still remember walking out of the elevators onto the 4th floor and being greeted by a video montage of GRAMMY Awards winners giving their GRAMMY Award winning speeches. That day I told myself that I was going to make it inside of the GRAMMY Museum.
A couple of years after my first visit to the GRAMMY Museum I was invited back to the museum as a student through Long Beach Community Action Partnerships’ (LBCAP) afterschool program called L.A.M.P. (Leadership and Mentoring Program), which was developed by my mentor Darick Simpson. I participated in the GRAMMY Museum’s Summer Session program, performed at the museum’s exhibit launch “Say it Loud the Genius of James Brown” in front of James Brown’s family, and even got the chance to go to the White House through the GRAMMY Museum.
In 2013, I was hired at the GRAMMY Museum as the education coordinator and have since been promoted to Sr. Manager of Education & Community Engagement. In my role at the museum, I’ve had the opportunity to lead some of the same programs that I participated in as a student, which gives me an even deeper appreciation for the work that I do.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
At this point, I’m not sure any road in life is smooth. At least not entirely. But it’s the bumps and turns, roadblocks and detours that makes the journey interesting. A struggle that I faced early on was dealing with impostor syndrome. Prior to working at the GRAMMY Museum my experience in music came from writing and producing my own original music, starting my own music club in high school, developing local talent from my neighborhood, putting on showcases, and working as a student teacher at L.A.M.P. in my hometown Long Beach. From my point of view at the time, all my experience paled in comparison to my colleagues and industry professional who I began to work with at the GRAMMY Museum.
While I did feel intimidated in the beginning, I turned that intimidation into motivation and went after every opportunity that would come my way through the museum to gain some of the experience I felt I lacked. I didn’t realize at the time how my prior experience prepared me for those opportunities. Once I was able to connect the dots, I began to recognize my value and realized that I had something to offer the GRAMMY Museum.
Other struggles I faced along the way came with life happening, the theme of my debut Album “Life Happened.” which I released and held an album release event at the GRAMMY Museum in December 2023. Since I began working at the museum in 2013, a lot of life has happened. I’ve been married, had my son Eden who has made my life all the better, went through a divorce, lost my pops, got my first platinum record as producer with GRAMMY Nominated artist Giveon, graduate from Cal State Long Beach with a business management degree, and so much more. Balancing life and a career will always present struggles and challenges, but I’ve learned to view struggles and challenges as opportunities for growth, and continue to find ways to keep a healthy balance.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Throughout my career thus far at the GRAMMY Museum I’ve built a reputation for creating, developing, presenting, and hosting impactful programs and events. I have had the opportunity to present education workshops for thousands of students annually covering topics such as Music Production, Music of the Civil Rights Movement, Songwriting, and more. I’ve also have had the opportunity to interview a wide array of artist and industry professionals such as Ziggy Marley, Maren Morris, Killer Mike, Sean Paul, NLE Choppa, Lizzy McAlpine, MC Lyte, Ryan Coogler, Ludwig Goransson, and many more.
In recent years I have began to produce more community engagement events and programs around different heritage months. In recognition of Black Music Month June 2024, I lead efforts to produce an event at the museum called the GRAMMY Museum Hip-Hop Block Party to celebrate each 50 years of Hip-Hop, which was one of the most exciting events I had the opportunity to produce at the GRAMMY Museum.
Having an impact on students and the community at large through the programs and events that I have the opportunity to be a part of is a rewarding feeling and what I am most proud of. What sets me apart from others is the same thing that sets us all apart from each other, which is our own individualism and unique perspectives. We all have our own storis and experiences that shaped us to be who we are today. I’ve found a way to use my story and experiences to connect with others through the work that I am able to do.

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
As the saying goes, no risk, no reward. When I decided early on in my career at the GRAMMY Museum that I was going to take on every opportunity that came my way, that came with a lot of risk. There was risk involved because many of the opportunities that were presented were first time experiences for me. Such as, traveling out of the country to help develop and lead a summer program in the Caribbean, or volunteering to lead workshops that I never taught before, or even putting myself out there as a moderator to interview industry professionals early on. More recently, I was asked to help develop the GRAMMY Museum’s Hip-Hop America: The Mixtape exhibit. This was a task that I had never done before, but I took the risk, took on the challenge, and got the job done. All these opportunities could have gone very wrong and tarnished my reputation, but it instead, the risks I’ve taken and continue to take is contributing to the legacy I am building.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://schyleroneal.com
• Instagram: @schyleroneal