Savannah Curro is graduating from Mercer University‘s School of Music and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences with a Bachelor of Music Performance (organ) and a Bachelor of Arts in history, respectively.
What are your plans after graduation?
I will be enrolling in the Master of Divinity program at Yale University. At Yale, I will be expanding my undergraduate studies in sacred music and religious history to include intensive theological study. I am excited about the opportunity to engage in interfaith dialogue in the interdenominational environment at Yale Divinity School in addition to deepening my faith as an active Episcopalian. The Berkeley Divinity School, the Episcopal seminary at Yale, attracts Anglicans from all over the world. In addition to attending seminary, I plan to continue serving as a church organist and choir director. I currently hold the post of director of music and organist at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Hawkinsville.
Who was your favorite professor and why?
Both Dr. Jack Mitchener, professor of organ, and Dr. Doug Thompson, professor of history and Southern studies, had a tremendous impact on me at Mercer by encouraging my dual study of history and music while also equipping me with a curiosity about religious studies. Dr. Thompson holds a Ph.D. in religious studies from University of Virginia and integrates religious topics of historical importance into his classes. Dr. Mitchener, on the other hand, has spent a lifetime as a church musician and has influenced me with his sensitivity to matters pertaining to the organ’s use in worship.
What is one of your favorite Mercer memories?
My favorite Mercer memory is the friendships I have built in the close-knit environment at the Townsend School of Music. Watching my peers progress musically and support one another as they mark important life milestones such as getting married, building their own businesses upon graduation, and getting into their dream graduate school programs has been a joy.
What was your favorite class and why?
My favorite class has been the Mercer Singers. I have made so many important cross-campus connections through singing in the choir and grown enormously as a musician and human being under Dr. Stanley Roberts’ baton. I have shed many tears in that class from having been moved by our work, particularly during the annual Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in downtown Macon. This service inspired me to commit to Mercer.
How do you plan on changing the world?
I hope to spread a message of loving kindness through both practicing and sharing the good news of a more inclusive, more justice-filled Christianity. Furthermore, I hope to continue making music that provides comfort to the suffering and space for the jubilant to celebrate.
What advice do you have for incoming students?
Don’t be afraid to change or add majors, and talk to your professors! One of the biggest strengths about Mercer is the ability for academic exploration and easy access to your professors who will get to know you as an individual, not a number.
How did Mercer prepare you for your future?
Mercer exposed me to others whose backgrounds are very different from my own. Listening to my peers’ experiences and adapting to a radically new living environment that was located over 1,000 miles from home, I have grown far more empathetic toward people whose life stories and values differ from my own.
What makes Mercer special to you?
Mercer is special for its compact campus, radically invested professors, thriving music program in a lower population university environment, and location in a small city with countless opportunities to be invested in and learn from the local community.
Would you like to be featured in The Den’s Graduate Spotlight? All you have to do is fill out this form and submit your photo. Your response also may be used on social media.
