Toomer calls Waltzer the "most interesting person I know," and Waltzer is sure to return the praise.

"She has a wonderful sense of phrasing and a beautiful voice, but she never forgets to sing with a great deal of soul," says Waltzer, who will likely be producing jazz shows at Lincoln Center in New York this fall. "She has so much charm and enthusiasm that she'll be successful in whatever she does."

TOOMER IS TENTATIVELY scheduled to work with music impresario Quincy Jones next year in New York. Jones will begin publishing a monthly magazine of hip-hop culture, Vibe, this September, and Toomer hopes to be on board by that time.

Eager to make the right connections in the music industry, she's pursued the job in typical Toomer fashion. It began--as all her adventures seem to--with an announcement one day. "It was watching MTV [in August 1992] with my father--can you believe that?--and we saw Quincy Jones talking about his new magazine," Toomer says, "Then I turned to my father and said, "That's what I'm going to be doing next year."

When Jones came to Harvard in early March, Toomer had her thesis advisor, Afro-American Studies Department Chair Henry Louis Gates, arrange a meeting. Gates invited Toomer to a luncheon in Jone's honor, and the motivated singer took it from there.

"I walked in and there were all these adults standing around, and [Jones] was over in the corner alone," Toomer says. "No one would talk to him. So I went up and we talked for about a half hour...I asked him for some career advice. He was really, really encouraging."

She's sent him writing samples and has "hush-hush, unofficial" word that she has a job. Even if she doesn't though, she has her sights set on the long term. Toomer wants to sing "pop R & B," preferably "funk and soul." ("Does that sound terrible?" she asks laughing.) She hopes to be both a solid musician and a "great performer." And, above all, she wants to be a star.

"I want to be a big star. I want to be big," she says confidently.

Toomer recognizes that getting to the top will be difficult, a combination of luck and skill. And she worries that the music industry may not take her seriously, seeing her as just another Black girl with a soulful voice.

But she has her answers for that. She will make the right connections working for Jones. She will use her Harvard education to "give back to the Black community if she can." And she will title her first, of many, albums: "Ain't Nothin Special About a Black Girl Who Can Sing."

"There's a certain arrogance, I suppose, that comes with a Harvard degree. People also take you more seriously. I feel that I can use that to make contributions in other areas of the music industry," Toomer says.

IF YOU WANT TO FIND Alexis Toomer this fall, don't bother checking the stacks of Widener. The days of thesis-angst are over, and she's got New York on her mind. So at the end of this month, take a trip to the Upper West Side of New York and you'll find Toomer living the life of a fledgling artist (with shelter provided by a generous Harvard classmate).

Find $1.25 and take a ride on the subway, and you'll find her feeling out the "groove" of the city, getting to know what she calls New York's unique "soundtrack."

Or take a trip to a jazz club, and you'll find her jotting down mental notes on how to improve her musical stylings.

Quincy Jones or no Quincy Jones, New York is where Toomer plans to make her mark. "New York is the best place for me to grow as a person. I want to push myself to try something a little less familiar, a little more daring," the one-time Valley Girl says.

"I have this weird sense it's going to happen for me." She pauses. "I'm going to make it happen."

'I want to push myself to try something a little less familiar, a little more daring. I have this weird sense it's going to happen for me. I'm going to make it happen.'