Cynthia Collins is from Jefferson City, Missouri. She began piano lessons at the age of five and had every intention of pursuing a music career as a composer. She graduated from Drury University in Springfield, Missouri, with a Bachelor of Music, attended summer school at the Salzburg Universitat in Salzburg, Austria, and did her graduate work in composition at the Mannes School of Music in New York.

While working in the music industry, she would spend her spare time watching the ships in New York Harbor. This led to a volunteer position, sail training, and employment at South Street Seaport Museum. Other volunteer experiences with ships followed, including the 2006 NY dockside segment of the Godspeed Sail honoring America's 400th Anniversary.