Fourth-Year Reflections

Mary Katherine McCullough - Alto 1 Section Leader, President (2020-2021), Business Manager (2019-2020), and Alumnae Relations Chair (2018-2019)

My time in VWC has truly been the most important part of my undergraduate experience here at UVA! I have made forever friends and had the opportunity to make beautiful music with this amazing group of women. I have also had the opportunity to gain leadership experience by serving as the Alumnae Relations Chair, the Business Manager, the Alto 1 Section Leader, and the President. My favorite memories include Spring 2019 rehearsal weekend in Northern Virginia, the 2021 Candlelight Concert, and many, many pre-rehearsal dinners. After graduation, I am planning to take a gap year working before moving on to law school. I am so thankful to VWC for everything it has given me! I hope it will continue to be a wonderful and welcoming place for many more generations of VDubz to come!

Allie Curran - Merchandise Chair (2020-2022)

VWC has been a pivotal part of my UVA experience. It has brought me so many friends and experiences that I am so grateful for. I loved being merch chair and creating designs that I loved to see people wear (despite not getting to sell much due to COVID). One of my favorite moments in VWC are the new girl nights of course. I loved having so many amazing people in one room, and getting to hang out and have fun! After graduation I will be taking a gap year and working as a medical assistant at a pediatric cardiology office that I have been a part of for the last 3 years. I will also be applying to medical school, and hope to get in somewhere in Virginia!

Sarah Combs - Alto 1 Section Leader and Fundraising Chair (2018-2019)

"I auditioned for VWC my very first semester of first year because the women at the Activities Fair were so friendly. I didn’t audition for any other group, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. The sisterhood I have found here is incredible, and I have made lifelong friends. From littles to astronomy classmates to fellow grad school applicants, the women of VWC have made my UVA undergraduate experience unforgettable. Nothing will ever beat Candlelight Concert of 2019, the last one before the pandemic. St. Paul’s was simply beautiful, but not as beautiful as all of our music. It was the best program I’ve ever sung, and my friends and family were there to enjoy it as well as to celebrate my birthday, which is always the same weekend as the Candlelight Concerts. Next year, I will be attending the University of Virginia School of Law to continue my studies. I will make sure to attend the future VWC concerts to cheer them on, and I will of course stay in contact with all the friends I have made here."

Lora Becker - Soprano 1 Section Leader and Tour Chair (2018-2021)

I joined VWC as a first-semester first year, so I've really never been in college without the chorus. I've met so many wonderful singers and human beings through VWC and it has been such a formative experience for me. My favorite VWC moment was my second year, right before the onset of COVID, during our rehearsal weekend away in northern Virginia. Those couple of days were really cool opportunities for the members of the chorus to bond in a non-UVA setting, and I feel like it helped a lot of people in the chorus to get closer. As co-tour manager at that time, I was a big part of planning that weekend, so it was quite rewarding to see my work pay off both for myself and others. Overall, I'm so happy to have been a part of this group and I hope to keep in touch with the friends I've made and keep up with the chorus in the future.

Mackenna Gordon - Soprano 2 Section Leader, Concert Manager (2021), Alumnae Relations Chair (2020), and Historian (2019)
Throughout the past four years, VWC has been my family here at UVA. I can't imagine how different my college experience would have been had I not been a part of this amazing group. I think the most important thing that I could take away from being in the chorus is that you really can conquer anything life throws at you with the support from your close friends. I will be going on to get my Master's and Education Specialist degree in school psychology (somewhere in the midwest, probably!) after graduation, and I will be carrying the wisdom, creativity, resilience, and friendships that being in the chorus has brought with me. <3