This post was updated Dec. 4 at 7:28 p.m.

Ella Gibson is bringing her creativity as a singer-songwriter to UCLA and beyond.

The second-year music industry student released her latest single, “Compass,” in July, along with a music video she directed. Gibson said she planned on making her debut at the annual Spring Sing performance in May before the event’s cancellation. She said she honed her interest in music inside the classroom by taking songwriting and production classes and outside the classroom as the music department manager for UCLA Radio.

“The act of creating music is what drew me to it (a music career),” Gibson said. “I was like, ‘I want to do this forever.’”

Although Gibson said she grew up singing and playing piano from the age of 3, it wasn’t until she started playing guitar that she felt compelled to tell stories through music. Gibson said she remembers getting her first guitar at about 8 years old and immediately starting to brainstorm lyrics.

“I just sat down and started writing songs,” Gibson said. “I had no personal connection to them because I was 9, and I didn’t have any experience with romance or anything that I wanted to write about, but it was always a really cathartic way for me to express (myself).”

[Related: UCLA alumnus Manisha Wanniappa forges music career, capturing emotions in song]

Over a decade later, Gibson said she continues to write her own music and now performs for live audiences across Southern California. After being named a 2023 YoungArts national competition winner in the popular voice category and a 2024 Unsigned Only Music Awards semifinalist, Gibson said she is now focused on advancing her career by embracing imperfection in her music.

Ella’s sister, Grace Gibson, said she remembers her sister singing nonstop throughout their childhood, so much so that it once prompted their grandmother to ask Ella if she ever stopped singing. Grace said she noticed early on that her sister had an acute awareness for the smallest musical details.

Ella said her music style, inspired by artists such as Adrianne Lenker, Lizzy McAlpine, Phoebe Bridgers and Taylor Swift, can be described as indie folk-pop. She said her single “Compass” resembles her past songs such as “Shooting Star” and “Distance,” reflecting her passion for imbuing her music with a theme or emotion.

Savannah Tweedt, a musical partner and collaborator of Ella, said Ella supports other aspiring artists. Tweedt said Ella has begun to dabble in producing as she seeks to help other songwriters bring their music to life. In addition to supporting fellow musicians in the recording studio, Ella’s legacy at her high school continues to inspire young songwriters, Tweedt added.

“People love being around her and love talking to her and going to her shows, and she’ll go to every show that she can go to,” Tweedt said.

[Related: Alumni rock band MyVeronica pursues catharsis with live shows, new single]

Tweedt said Ella’s influence on the local music scene throughout Southern California continues to inspire her own musical endeavors. She added that Ella has shown her the power and importance of music in her life. Ella is currently working on an EP, Tweedt added.

As she continues to study music in an educational space, Ella said she attributes much of her growth as a musician to her high school and now college mentor, UCLA music industry lecturer Natasha Pasternak.

However, Pasternak said Ella’s progress is a testament not only to the artist’s talent and work ethic but also to her kindness and ability to collaborate with others. Pasternak said she remembers Ella as one of the first students to demonstrate vulnerability in her creative process when Pasternak first started teaching at the Orange County School of the Arts’ Popular Music Conservatory.

“It was really easy to tap into mentorship with Ella because she was just so eager,” Pasternak said. “We do a lot of big productions, and one of the shows, I assigned her to do an AC/DC song, and she was like, ‘What are you doing? This is not my vibe at all.’ … I was like, ‘I believe you can do this. You have it in you,’ and so she pushed through and totally crushed it.”

At UCLA, Pasternak said she continues to support Ella in her music journey and that the singer-songwriter has only continued to grow as a musician. Pasternak added that Ella’s potential as a songwriter is due to her devotion to her music.

“She cares very deeply about her craft and about other people,” Pasternak said. “I saw Joni Mitchell … at the Hollywood Bowl, and I was like, ‘Wow, we’re so lucky to have such caring songwriters in the world that will write beautiful songs that change people’s lives.’ And I feel like Ella is in that same world.”