Meredith White, meme queen and first-year here at DePauw, is a very involved student in Honor Scholar, Media Fellows, and the School of Music. I sat down with her to ask how she balances it all.
Her Campus: How are you doing?
Meredith White: I’m okay, you know, it’s cold outside, it’s wet. It doesn’t do much for my hair. But it’s good. Not to toot my own horn, but it’s my birthday today.
HC: You’re kidding, I didn’t know that. Happy Birthday!
MW: Thank you! So you know on Facebook how every time it’s your birthday, it’s like *applause* from everyone, so I feel really good.
HC: Good! I love that for you.
MW: Yeah, thank you!
HC: So how are you involved with music, is that something you want to major in?
MW: I’m probably not going to major in it. I might major in theatre communications because those tie into each other, and I’m a big musical theatre person. But I’m in the choir, I’m not going to major in music, but I’m probably just going to keep it going for as long as I can, because, you know, music is fun! Why not?
HC: And you were in Sister Act?
MW: Yeah!
HC: How did that go? What was your role?
MW: I was in the ensemble, so I was like a backup singer in the beginning and in the second act. Then I also played a homeless person when we ripped Eddie’s clothes off and danced behind him, so that was funny. But yeah, that was a lot of fun. Typically I don’t really like being in the ensemble and not because I’m like “I deserve better,” but just because a typical theatre problem is that the ensemble gets swept under the rug. But this time, it was fun! I made a lot of new friends and got to know some people better, so I had a lot of fun singing and dancing and just having a good time. I’ll definitely do more of that in the future.
HC: How long have you been doing musical theatre?
MW: A long time, like since the fourth grade. I didn’t really super duper get into it until my freshman year of high school, though. From there, I just did all of the musicals and plays that we did, which must have been around twelve.
HC: What’s been your favorite character you’ve done?
MW: Ursula from The Little Mermaid.
HC: That’s awesome!
MW: Yeah.
HC: That would be so fun.
MW: Yeah, that was my senior year and, not to toot my own horn, but I think I did a pretty good job. I came back for fall break, and I visited the school. They got a canvas print of one of my photos as Ursula and hung it up on the wall in one of the halls. So I was like, “hmmm, not saying I’m a legend, but I’m a legend.”
HC: Love that! So you’re also an Honor Scholar and a Media Fellow?
MW: Yeah!
HC: Is that hard to balance with also being involved in music?
MW: Yes, absolutely. Especially with the musical going on, the rehearsals started at 6:30 and went on until 9:30, and my choir class goes until 5:30. So with Intro to Media class ending at 3:50, I didn’t really have a lot of time. I’m kind of glad it’s over now, because now I at least have nights that I can get stuff done. But during the musical, it was wild. Even now, it’s still kind of wild balancing everything. It’s just a lot of work just for two classes; it’s a little wild.
HC: Do you have any tips for anyone involved with music or theatre or any time management tips?
MW: *laughs* I’m still figuring it out myself. I would say just take it one step at a time. It’s going to be stressful, and you’re going to have to cry a little bit sometimes, which is okay! But, you know, one step at a time. You can get a couple snacks, just try to focus, and everything’s going to be okay. That’s all I can say.