This week’s campus celebrity Samantha Baydar, a senior, Music Education major with a concentration in french horn. Samantha is very active on campus as a member of IUP Ambassadors, a sister in music fraternity Sigma Alpha Iota, a member of the honors fraternity Delta Alpha Phi, and a member of Pennsylvania Collegiate Music Educators Association. During her time at IUP, she has also been a part of The Legend, IUP’s marching band.
Her passion for music radiates through her activities, and started when she was very young. Samantha chose her major because she said “there is nothing I loved more than playing in band and the feelings I got as a student making music.” Her experiences with past, influential music teachers also helped her decision, they suggested the idea of pursuing this degree, and she went along with it. Samantha has greatly enjoyed her time on campus, and after graduation she hopes to get a job in music education or continue her education to get her certification in instrument repair, because as she says “you have to love what you do.”
When asked what her favorite memory at IUP was, she said it was hard to think of just one. Her favorite memories involve bonding with some of her best friends on band trips, as the experiences of living in a college apartment for the first time and all of the antics that go along with that.
Samantha’s advice to freshman is the same advice that her mother gave her the day she moved in freshman year, and is advice she has shared with me personally, “Have fun, be careful, but have fun”. As a freshman everything around students is constantly changing, and you make and find out who truly is your best friends while you are in college. She advises you to “take a chance, talk to the kid down the hall, or in the library one day, be open to new people” and to “be smart and responsible, and don’t be afraid to be the first one to do something”.
The last thing we talked about was just general college and life advice. While helpful to freshman, it is something we all should remember. She said “College is stressful for everyone, we all have our moments, but keeping a low stress level is the key to success in college.” While studying and finding a major she was passionate about was important, a lot of her best memories happened outside of the classroom, in various organizations or just from being with friends, and that is why she encourages all people to find something they are passionate about and pursue it, but also make time to be active and social, because that is a large part of college. Sam’s last advice was to not be afraid to talk to your advisor or professors about changing your major or minor or your stress level. She was very stressed about being a 5th year senior, but she said she doesn’t regret it a bit because that is how long she needed to prepare herself for the world and to truly comprehend her coursework, which is very important.
Samantha is one of the sweetest and most level minded people on campus, and is very passionate about her major, as well as helping people. She is always there to hold a conversation or just to say hi and is very happy even with all the stress of her final year currently going on. Be sure to say hello if you see her on campus while she is going around between all of her activities and class!