Class of 2026: Kel Raphael finds harmony at both piano and computer keyboards

By William Lineberry
Honors College

Whether it’s code or a chord, the feeling of satisfaction is what drives Kel Raphael.

The senior in Virginia Commonwealth University’s Honors College will graduate this spring with two degrees: a bachelor of fine arts from the School of the Arts with a concentration in piano performance, and a bachelor of science in computer programming from the College of Engineering.

To Raphael, piano and computer science overlap in a compelling way: the deep feeling of accomplishment when things go right.

“The moment I can play through a piece of music and make it sound exactly how I want it to sound – or when I eventually figure out a problem with, say, a piece of code after some head bashing, but I eventually get it to work,” they said of the parallel. “That moment always feels really good.”

Raphael has kept both sides of their interests balanced and thriving without sacrificing one for the other. It was a challenge, but meeting it kept them fulfilled through their undergraduate career.

“I’ve played piano my whole life, so I wanted to continue to pursue that – but not as a full-time job,” Raphael said. “So that, along with also having a real interest in computer science coming from high school, is why I chose to pursue it as well.”

They praise VCU for both providing the avenues to support their passions and providing insight into what powers personal growth.

“A lot of what I credit to VCU for helping me with has to do with the actual process of learning how to learn,” Raphael said. “With music, if you have a piece, there are ways to practice it and figure out how to improve your playing – or if you’re not sure what you want to do with the piece, you can experiment and figure it out. In computer science, you will encounter a problem and not know what to do, so you have to look it up and figure out the problem until you understand what you want, more or less. And that’s a challenge, but it’s a very important [skill].”

Following graduation, Raphael will not be done with VCU yet. They will have one more year to finish their accelerated master’s in computer science through the College of Engineering. The program allows students to begin coursework for the graduate degree while finishing their undergraduate credits. 

After completing their master’s, Raphael hopes to remain rooted in their passions: with the occasional gig playing piano – whether at church or elsewhere – and a stable job helping people through computer science.

“I mostly just want to have a good life and generally improve things for other people,” Raphael said, “while also being a good person myself and just, you know, live my life.”