Today we’d like to introduce you to Dearick Milton.
Hi Dearick, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My story is really one of survival, reinvention, and learning to become an ‘Overcomer.’
I was born in Canton, Ohio, but my story truly took root in Columbus, Georgia, where I was raised by my great-grandmother and the ‘village’ of that era. My early childhood was marked by severe trauma; I survived abuse and often felt like an outcast who just didn’t ‘fit in’ anywhere.
Music ultimately became my escape, but it actually started out of teenage defiance. When I was in the 10th grade, my sister and cousin were learning how to play the piano. I asked if they would share what they were learning, and they refused. That rejection ignited a fire in me. The very next day, out of pure spite, I skipped all my classes, locked myself in a soundproof piano room at school, and taught myself everything I had seen them play from memory. I practiced obsessively, and within six months, I landed my first job as a musician at Greater Peace Baptist Church. While still in high school, I even co-hosted a local television show called A Song in My Heart.
However, the journey wasn’t a straight line. In 1986, I wrote a song called ‘Worthy’ that introduced me to the national Gospel community, but I wasn’t emotionally prepared for that reality. I walked away from the church and didn’t touch a piano for years. When I finally returned, I had lost almost all of my skills; I often say it wasn’t like relearning to ride a bike, it was like ‘learning to walk all over again’.
In 1993, my family and I relocated to Atlanta. That move changed everything, becoming the launchpad for my dual career. Musically, I re-entered the Gospel industry, eventually joining Joseph Robinson and The Chosen Aggregation in 2003. That collaboration led to incredible milestones, including two Billboard-charting placements for my song ‘Christ Was Born (The Messiah)’ and several songwriting awards.
Simultaneously, Atlanta is where I built my corporate career in IT and cybersecurity. I’m a lifelong learner—I earned my Bachelor of Science in Information Technology Cum Laude in 2023, the same year I was inducted into ForbesBLK. Recently, on November 1, 2025, I was promoted to Technical Services PMO Program Manager at a leading global cybersecurity company. I’ve always believed that the empathy, clarity, and sincerity I learned in ministry are the exact transferable skills that set me apart in the corporate tech space.
Today, I am stepping into my boldest chapter yet. On Thanksgiving Day, November 27, 2025, I released my debut R&B album, Compositions of Love. It’s a hybrid blend of R&B, Pop, and Jazz that steps away from traditional Gospel to explore mature, humanistic themes of love.
When I look back at how I got here—from surviving childhood trauma to navigating both the cybersecurity boardroom and the Billboard charts—I realize that every single experience worked together to preserve me. I didn’t fit in because I was meant to stand out, and all of it has equipped me to help others experience love and authenticity through my life and my music.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
My road has not been smooth, by any stretch of the imagination; it was far from ideal.
From the very age of four, I was forced to survive severe trauma, including molestation, and other physical, psychological, and sexual abuses. For the majority of my childhood, I lived with a pervasive sense of feeling virtually unwelcome and worthless. In fact, when I graduated from high school, I didn’t celebrate it as a traditional milestone; it was my ticket of escape, and I was purely celebrating survival.
School brought its own set of profound struggles. In the second grade, I dreaded reading out loud. My voice would quiver as I tried to sound out words, and my classmates would smirk and stare. I was deemed a slow learner with a reading disability and had to attend summer school for two years in a row, where I was labeled and teased as ‘The Dunce’ who couldn’t read. Years later, a physician friend explained that I likely had a condition known as a ‘one word eye span,’ where comprehension is lost because the eye only processes one word at a time, but back then, it just made me feel utterly incompetent.
Socially, I was dismissed as an outcast because of my quietness, shyness, and mild manners. I was often picked last by the team captain for sports. I knew I was ‘strange’, and consequently, I recoiled into becoming a textbook introvert. I tried everything, but I spent years agonizing over why I just never ‘fit in’.
Even with music—the very thing that became my escape—there were major hurdles. After I taught myself to play the piano out of spite and wrote my first national Gospel song, ‘Worthy,’ in 1986, my young eyes simply weren’t ready for the reality that early success awakened. I completely walked away from the church, the ministry, and the piano for years. When I finally tried to return to music, I was shocked to find that I had lost almost all of my skills. It wasn’t like relearning to ride a bike; it was like learning to walk all over again, and I never fully recovered my initial proficiency.
However, my story does not have a sad ending, so I never want anyone to feel pity for me. It wasn’t until I reached a mature age that the Lord finally answered my lifelong question of why I never fit in. He told me, ‘I wouldn’t let you fit because those with which you fit would have been unable to receive what I would later have you to take back to them. They would have held you hostage to your past’.
I realize now that every single struggle was necessary. I stand today as an ‘Overcomer’, knowing that by the grace of God, I have conquered some things and am still conquering others. All of those tumultuous and overwhelming experiences worked together for my good, protecting and preserving me so that I could arrive at my destiny fully understanding the purpose behind the pain.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’ll gladly share more about my professional career, because to me, it is just as exciting as my music career. Currently, I work in the corporate tech space for Palo Alto Networks, a leading global cybersecurity company. I have been serving as a Senior Professional Services Project Manager, where I orchestrate the end-to-end delivery of complex, enterprise-level customer deployment programs. Recently, on November 1, 2025, I was promoted to the role of Technical Services PMO Program Manager. In my career, I specialize in being innovative; I focus on developing solutions, processes, and platforms that minimize levels of effort while simultaneously maximizing results. For example, in Q4 2024, I was recognized by my leadership for developing an Implementation Tracker, which helps streamline our deployment processes.
I am incredibly proud of my journey as a lifelong learner and the professional milestones that have come with it. I earned my Associate of Arts in Information Technology, with a certificate in Information Assurance and Security, in 2018. Later, in April 2023, I graduated Cum Laude with a 3.82 GPA, earning a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology with a certification in Advanced Networking. That same year, I was deeply honored to be inducted as a member of ForbesBLK and the Golden Key International Honor Society.
When it comes to what sets me apart from others in the corporate marketplace, it really boils down to my communication and my heart. I have the ability to effectively communicate thoroughly, and with sincerity, clarity, empathy, and integrity. I firmly believe that many of my strongest characteristics in the corporate world—whether I am mitigating project risks, managing budgets, or mentoring junior project managers—are actually transferable skills from the many years I’ve served in ministry.
I was born with a grateful and compassionate heart that genuinely cares about people. When I interact with clients, stakeholders, and colleagues, I often ask God internally, ‘How would Jesus handle this? How much grace would He extend? Will the people see You in me as I present and respond?’. My ultimate goal is for people to see and experience God through my actions, even if I never mention His Name. Because I take that mindset with me everywhere I go, I often hear people in the corporate world tell me, ‘You’re different’. I typically just smile and say, ‘Thank you,’ but in my mind, my response is always, ‘I know. I’ve heard it all my life’.”
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
The most important lesson I’ve learned is that your existence is not an accident, your life is not a mistake, and your experiences—even the most painful ones—are never a waste of time.
For the majority of my childhood and early life, I felt like an outcast. I spent years agonizing over why I just never seemed to ‘fit in’ anywhere. But when I reached a mature age, and The Lord finally answered that question for me, that revelation completely changed my perspective. It taught me that everything I had gone through and endured—whether it was tumultuous, embarrassing, or overwhelming—actually worked together to protect and preserve me for His glory. I realized that God wants us to use each of our lived experiences to elevate us as we operate in our true purpose.
This lesson has freed me to be my authentic self in every space I enter. I learned that we are ‘Kids of the King,’ and because of that DNA, we don’t have to be boxed in; the Universe responds to us, to our voice, to our affirmations, to our declarations, and to our commands. I don’t have to separate my faith from my corporate career as a Program Manager, nor do I have to separate it from my artistry as I pivot into R&B with Compositions of Love. All of these facets are just different platforms to express real emotion, honor lived experiences, and create space for people to feel seen and understood.
Ultimately, the greatest takeaway from my journey is that if you are still standing today, you are an Overcomer, and every challenge you conquered played a crucial part in your destiny. As one of my favorite quotes says, ‘If I can help somebody as I pass along, then my living shall not be in vain’. That is the lesson I try to live by every single day.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.dearickmilton.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dearickmiltonsr/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dearick
- Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/dearick-milton-849b633a1
- Twitter: https://x.com/dearickmilton
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@dearickmilton
- soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/BcqBrfg0iFtOQJFwpH
