Harper finds her way on a big college campus through singing

Everyone tells you to get involved… but no one tells you how hard it is.

As a freshman at Virginia Tech, I was terrified. In high school, I was always super busy with extracurricular and getting together with friends. College was different because I didn’t have anything to do besides go to class and hang out with my roommate (shoutout Lanie Martin I love you). I knew I needed to get involved, but I didn’t know how. With sorority rush being in the Spring, I was happy to have time to settle in, but I was eager to get to know my school.  

Best. Decision. Ever.

Not knowing what I was getting myself into, I started practicing a song for the acapella group auditions that my friend had told me about the following day. I didn’t know anything about any of the groups, so I auditioned for all of them. Sitting outside of the Soulstice audition door, the girls were all so nice, and when Jordan, the president, came out to call my name in her black tank, booties, and checkered skirt, she sparked up a conversation that made me feel so comfortable. The next day, I got a callback and that night in Squires, I quickly fell in love with Soulstice Acapella, the premiere female acapella group at Virginia Tech, established in 1998. The girls were welcoming, funny, and friendly. What I loved the most about this group was that they were all so different! I remember them saying “we are all so close, but not one of us are the same!” All of the girls in the group had their own things they were involved in, but all shared one love, a love for music. A few hours later, I got a call from Jordan offering me a spot in the group. Before accepting the offer, I called my mom who I had just spilled every detail about my callback experience. I asked her what she thought to which she replied, “Why are you still talking to me right now?! Go tell them yes!” I called Jordan back and heard a group of cheering girls welcoming me to Soulstice, not knowing then that this phone call would change my college experience entirely.

I did not know what I was getting myself into… but it was SO worth it.

I joined Soulstice entirely on a whim. I knew I wanted to get involved in something on campus, but I really didn’t think I would. Joining the group was so easy and happened so fast, but I didn’t really know what being in an acapella group entailed.

For the first few weeks after joining Soulstice, I was nervous before every practice and terrified of the older girls. They were all such amazing singers and I didn’t know how I was even worthy to sing in a group with them. There was one girl who scared me the most… she stood next to me in our lineup and I always felt like she could hear me messing up. Her name was Elana Colbert. 

Turns out Elana wasn’t scary at all. She soon became one of my best friends and someone who I could always go to, as did the other “scary older girls”. Flash forward to February after joining Kappa Delta (which Elana was also in!!!) she became my big! Because of Soulstice and Kappa Delta, Elana quickly went from being a scary Junior to being like a big sister to me. I could not be more thankful to have her in my a cappella group and my chapter. I love her and I look up to her SO much. This girl is gonna do BIG things. 

Looking back, it’s funny to think that I was so scared of the older girls. It’s also crazy to think that if I hadn’t decided to go to that audition, my life right now would be so different. Soulstice gave me something to look forward to every week and a group of people to always make me laugh. The practice became the best part of my week. Finally, Blacksburg stopped feeling so much like college, and more like home. I know I know… so sappy… but true.

We also have SO MUCH FUN!

Every Monday and Wednesday, I would look forward to going to Squires and finding out what tik tok dance we were learning that day… walking into practice was always exciting. While practices were so fun, concerts and socials were even better. This group would go from singing in black dresses in front of a fancy group of donors to dressing up in tacky Halloween costumes and singing to a group of a cappella boys. Yes… we hang out with other a cappella groups on the weekends and sometimes it is like Pitch Perfect.

 Our Fall concert in November, Rock & Soul, was one of my favorite days I’ve ever had at VT. I remember Elana telling me that her first Soulstice concert was easily the best day she’d had at college. She said she couldn’t stop smiling all night. All afternoon, we set up decorations at the Lyric Theater and watched our vision come to life. When it was finally time for the concert, we jumped up and down to our hype up chant before performing for all our friends and family. Elana was so right- it was one of the best days ever.

 Later in March, the group headed to Nova and had another performance I’ll always remember - Jordan Shanahan’s wedding! We sang one of our favorite ballads, “Grows Old” before Sydney absolutely took over the dance floor. Not knowing that it would be the last time the group ever sang together before getting sent home for the rest of the year, I can’t think of a better final performance.  

I eventually decided to get more involved in the group by running for a position!

Later in the semester, we had the chance to run for positions. Ever since our Fall Concert, “Rock and Soul,” I had been dreaming of planning a concert alongside Hannah Lee, our concert director at the time. She was another girl in the group who I admired for her creativity, her killer fashion sense, and her very interesting dance moves. Hannah could always make the group laugh… and then get yelled at. Since Hannah was a senior, she had already claimed me as her “mini-me” and encouraged me to run for concert director. When the time came to run, I did and I was so excited to fill her shoes.

As concert director, I get to pick the theme and outfits for the concert, along with various other concert details. I design the merch we get each year and plan our photoshoot. Last Spring, our concert theme was (or would have been), “Spring Soulstice.” For our photo shoot, we all drove out to a beautiful farm on a chilly Spring day in pink dresses! Below are some pictures from that day… :)

This year, since we couldn’t do a photoshoot in person, we did a “FaceTime photo shoot.” It sounds super weird… but basically, all the pictures were taken as screenshots during FaceTime. They turned out so great thanks to our amazing Social Media Manager, Sydney Johnson, who makes us look SO good on Instagram (@vtsoulstice).

Being concert director, this year looked super different since we couldn’t have our usual in-person concert. So, we got creative! On Friday, January 8th, Soulstice released a virtual concert! We worked super hard to make this feel as much like a concert as possible! The video features two of our new songs and discusses how we put it all together. Our theme for the concert was “Girls’ Night In” instead of Girls’ Night Out. We wanted to find a reason to dress up but also show that we are always in sweats… if you want to know what I mean, check out our concert below!  

What I’ve learned…

I could go on and on about how much I love Soulstice, but the point is – this group ROCKS and has brought me so much in the past year and a half at VT. I can’t imagine Tech without Soulstice and I am so thankful for the people and all the memories Soulstice gave me. See for yourself how much fun we have and follow us on Instagram @vtsoulstice!!!