his past fall semester I decided to change my major from music to psychology. Studying music as a major took the fun out of it for me. I have decided it is better to keep music as my minor to preserve my love for it. Switching my major to psychology will also help with furthering my career path to becoming a musical therapist. I started this semester with my first psychology class, cultural psychology. In this course, I learned what it means to understand the different cultures around the world and how to appreciate diverse ways of thinking. Expanding our views on cultural contexts other than our own is a great way to develop a better understanding of the world we all live in. I knew I was interested in psychology but this class confirmed just how interested I am in psychology. The only class I had outside of music and psychology was writing rhetorically. We discussed the difference between civil rights and human rights. We talked about the evolution of cultural norms along with what it means to create lasting change in society. Our discussions overlapped with the content we were studying in the cultural psychology class. This upcoming semester I have enrolled in more psychology classes to work towards getting enough credits for a BA in psychology. I have also made sure to sign up for music classes such as opera, chorale, and chambers. I’ve taken these classes before and have loved every practice and performance that went into studying musical performance. I would not be able to continue my college career without music. Although I am far along in my college education, I plan on taking intersession courses in the summer and winter. These asynchronous classes will help me graduate closer to my original goal. I am confident in my newfound passion for psychology and am excited to continue on this new path.
Emily Hewson - Bridgewater State University
The atmosphere here at Bridgewater State University (BSU) is one of acceptance and encouragement. I’ve begun to put down roots here. I've even run into a few island people! Seeing people from home has made a big difference in acclimating to this new university. After being seven hours and 45 minutes away from home at my last school in Vermont, it’s nice to feel close to home.
The BSU music program has an amazing faculty who are always willing to support anyone in need. Success in this program is inherently tied to how much effort you are willing to put in. Every professor I have worked with thus far has expanded my passion and respect for music. Inspired by my vocal instructor at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, Mrs. Abigail Chandler, I’ve decided to study opera. Opera is an incredibly powerful form of performance that requires an immense amount of physical training and skill. I’m utilizing my instrument and talents like never before. There is nothing I would rather do than study operatic performance. My courses, such as music theory and piano, have challenged me in the best ways. My studies are continuing to push me towards having a broader understanding of what it means to be a musician.
I have always had difficulties with writing. Even now, writing this essay I am having trouble meeting the word minimum. At BSU I know if I reach out, I will be granted the help that I need. I’m very lucky to have been able to attend college again after my sabbatical. Last fall was just the beginning of my successful college career at Bridgewater. This past fall semester has been an amazing learning experience. I can’t wait to go back in the spring.
Emily Hewson - Bennington College
I have spent 13 months rebuilding myself from the ground up. The grace and understanding of the MVYouth Scholarship made it possible for me to leave on sabbatical halfway through my sophomore year. Despite the unrelenting, daily, seizures, I passed two of my classes, both in music. I am proud to say I excelled in Advanced Voice. I’ve built a strong relationship with my music professor and mentor, Tom Bogdan. Being home has made me realize that both the town and college of Bennington is extremely similar to the Island of Martha’s Vineyard. For instance, it’s rather secluded. Everywhere you go you think to yourself, “Huh, I know that person.” Since leaving Bennington, I’ve been striving to get my epilepsy under control. For the first three months of my sabbatical I was in severe rehabilitation. Over the next two months I began moderate recovery. By the end of September my seizures had finally become manageable. Since then I’ve worked at a gardening store and as a baker’s apprentice. Through these hands on jobs I‘ve found that I thrive just as well as when I’m on stage. I'm not sure where this will take me. It’s a jumping off point, but isn't that the idea? To find a spark and follow it. I’m going to follow, study and surround myself with what inspires me. I plan to return to college in the fall of 2021. As of now, I am in the process of exploring my options of schooling and a possible transfer. I’m currently looking at a few schools in MA that offer performing arts as well as culinary and business programs. I appreciate the second chance to fulfill what I know I’m capable of. To start again with my accomplishments supporting me, not with what I’ve been through weighing me down. This is an opportunity that seemed impossible. Thanks to MVYouth I have the privilege of starting anew.
Emily Hewson - Bennington College
The beginning of my sophomore year was exciting with a sense of the possibilities yet to be realized. As much as I love my home on MV, I was ecstatic to reunite with my friends. All my trepidations evaporated. I looked forward to my audition for advanced voice. This class only accepts four students that apply. After my audition I was granted the opportunity to work one on one with my instructors in a class that usually has two or three students. This individualized attention and care offered by the unbelievably knowledgeable Bennington staff is what made a difference. I was gladly challenged by the level of difficulty involved in the Italian opera and 1920s French pop songs I was assigned. I cultivated relationships with both students and staff that have opened my eyes to new possibilities. Later this past semester I engaged in what’s called the plan process, starting to solidify the next few years of my college career. The plan process allows students to submit a free form idea for a course of study to a small group of relevant teachers instead of a traditional major system. In addition to meeting with their advisors, each student explains in an essay how they want to pursue their interests as well as how they will contribute to the institution. Unfortunately my struggles with epilepsy have persisted, to the extent that I felt it was necessary and unavoidable for me to pause and re-calibrate my next steps. During my plan meeting, I explained to my advisers that it is difficult to continue the courses I have set out for myself while having tonic clonic seizures almost daily. My time at Bennington is too valuable for me not to be at my best. Through self care and medication I will get my condition under control within my hiatus. I’m looking forward to rejoining the classmates and staff for the second half of my sophomore year in February 2021. With my deepest gratitude, please wish me luck.
Emily Hewson - Bennington College
My experience at Bennington has been eccentric. From Experiential Anatomy to Concept Musical to Robert Frost and the Rural Authentic, my classes have been diverse and inventive. They really do let professors have autonomy over what they teach and how they teach it. I particularly enjoyed my experiential anatomy course where we learned about fascia. It's the connective tissue that encompasses everything in our bodies. If you were to take everything but the fascia out of a body, you would still be able to see where all of the bones, muscles, veins, and arteries would be. It is the definition of connective tissue. I appreciate the intimate student to teacher experience.
I love working with my voice teacher Thomas Bogdan and integrating into the music community at the Jennings house (the building The Haunting was based on). But I am especially psyched about my first fieldwork term where I’ll be working on Tauroa farm in New Zealand! A fieldwork term is part of our curriculum in which we have to complete 210 hours of work in a field connected to what we are studying. Because I’m a first term and don’t have a set field of work, I get to go anywhere! This school has opened doors I never knew existed. The academic system they have in place makes it so your experience here can be as fruitful or barren as you make it. It’s up to the student to take advantage of the opportunities laid in front of us. Bennington College truly is the place for me.