Biology major Samantha Casale details the honor of singing the national anthem at this year’s Commencement Ceremony

Mulvey, Jenna

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DOCS@RWU

Roger Williams UniversityDOCS@RWUFeatured News Story The Week at Roger5-15-2013From the Lab to the StageJenna MulveyFollow this and additional works at: https://docs.rwu.edu/weekatroger_featured_newsPart of the Higher Education CommonsThis News Article is brought to you for free and open access by the The Week at Roger at DOCS@RWU. It has been accepted for inclusion in FeaturedNews Story by an authorized administrator of DOCS@RWU. For more information, please contact mwu@rwu.edu.Recommended CitationMulvey, Jenna, "From the Lab to the Stage" (2013). Featured News Story. 129.https://docs.rwu.edu/weekatroger_featured_news/129 News ArchiveFrom the Lab to the StageBiology major Samantha Casale details the honor of singing the national anthem atthis year’s Commencement CeremonyMay 15, 2013 Jenna Mulvey ’13BRISTOL, R.I. — Samantha Casale ’13 has had what some may call a lifetime  irtation with theperforming arts. At Roger Williams, she currently performs with a capella student group SpecialDelivery and tore up the dance  oor with the Dance Team during her freshman year. As graduationdraws near, a bright new spotlight will shine on Casale at the University’s most high-pro le event of theyear when she delivers the national anthem at the undergraduate Commencement Ceremony onSaturday, May 18.Casale, a biology major and music minor who says she has never sung “The Star-Spangled Banner”solo, has certainly dedicated more hours to a biology research lab than to the stage. She competedagainst other members of her class in an “American Idol” style competition to earn her spot as thesenior Commencement singer. Before soaking up the spotlight at Commencement, Casale toldPDQ@RWU how she discovered her passion for singing at a karaoke event, re ected on her time atRWU, and shared her post-graduation plans – a future she hopes will involve working with animals, withsome singing on the side.How does the national anthem inspire you?It’s a symbol of the strength of America, and I feel like music in itself inspires people. It’s a good way toshow the strength and the nationalism in America through music.How do you think you stood out from the other contestants?One of them I’ve never heard sing. But I know the other ones that I’ve heard are all very good, so Imust’ve had something that the judges liked in order to be picked. Not really sure what I had thatstood out, but it must’ve been something!How did you react when you found out that you were chosen?I was kind of shocked because they called me 10 or 15 minutes a er I auditioned. I was expecting tonot hear for a while! They said that they just wanted to congratulate me. I was really excited and whenthey  rst told me; I just kept saying thank you. I think I may have been a little annoying with that, but Iwas very excited and I called my mom right away and told her, ‘I got it!’What does it mean to you to be the national anthem singer at your Commencement ceremony?It’s de nitely an honor to be picked to represent the senior class and sing the national anthem, and Ifeel like it’s kind of a way to say thank you to Roger Williams for four years of giving me a greateducation. This is my way of saying thank you – but with music, which I love.What ignited your passion for singing?I’ve been singing since I was really young. I never started taking voice lessons until college. But Iwatched a lot of Disney movies and went through a phase of being obsessed with N’Sync, and I wouldsing along with them. I used to play the violin and I was in orchestra for a while. Once, we had akaraoke day with the band, orchestra and chorus and my friends were kind of like ‘Hey, you can sing.Why don’t you go up and sing something?’ So I sang “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” from “The LionKing” – my  rst time ever singing in front of anybody. The violin teacher came up to me a erwards andsaid, ‘You should probably stay in orchestra but also do some singing in the chorus every so o en.’And then I realized that I loved it, and from then on dropped orchestra, kept singing, and was in everychorus group and did theater.What will you remember the most about RWU?How beautiful the campus is and the professor that really inspired me to want to learn more aboutbiology and the associated  elds. And also the memories I’ve made with the people here. My favoritememory was watching the meteor shower behind GHH, and how everybody from the school goes outand camps out behind GHH to watch the meteor shower. I thought: ‘This is what a college should belike: everyone coming together for an event and being social.’ And, obviously, the a cappella group forbringing music back into my life again.How has being at RWU prepared you for your next steps a er graduation?The biology department tells you about places that are hiring and job opportunities, and one of myprofessors, Paul Webb, has a link on his Bridges account titled, “Possible Careers in Each of TheseFields,” and includes a number of di erent organizations and careers that you can go into in eachbiology  eld. They really try to introduce you to a wide number of  elds in biology, to help students nd out where your interest is so that you can pursue that in a career.What are your plans for a er graduation?I want to work with animals. A dream job would probably be some kind of animal rehabilitation whereyou can take injured or sick animals,  x them up, and then send them back into the wild again. Thatwould be what I would love to do. And then I want to keep doing music on the side because that’swhere my passion is.Share This: REQUEST INFO VISIT CAMPUS APPLY MAKE A GIFTMap & DirectionsContact UsDirectoryrwu.eduUndergraduate SiteOne Old Ferry Road, Bristol, RI 028091-800-458-7144ecto yNewsEventsAthleticsGraduate SiteSchool of LawSchool of Continuing Studies    © 2018 Roger Williams University. All rights reserved.GMAIL AT RWU BRIDGES MY RWU IT HELP SITE POLICIES WORK AT RWU

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