Meet the Interns: Isabelle

Hello hello! I'm Isabelle Edwards, a rising third-year from Farmville, Virginia, majoring in Youth & Social Innovation. YSI is a relatively new major (I'm in the sixth cohort!) in UVa's Curry School of Education and Human Development, with focuses on public policy, psychology, and innovation research. As of right now, I'm thinking about going to grad school for education policy, with plans to go into the arts education reform nonprofit world!

Here at UVa, I'm heavily involved in the marching band! I play mellophone for marching band and French horn for wind ensemble. I perform at all home football games, most home basketball games, and occasionally travel to tournaments/post-season events. This year, I was able to go to Charlotte, NC, twice for band things - once for the Belk Bowl and once for the men's basketball ACC tournament! Both events were super fun, though I've seen enough of downtown Charlotte to last me a lifetime. Being a member of the band is such a great experience, because I've been able to meet so many fantastic friends and grow as a musician. The band is one big family, and it's very easy to walk by a handful of other band members on your walk to class! Even though UVa can feel pretty big sometimes (16,000 undergrads!), it feels so much smaller once you get to know people.

Outside of band, I volunteer as a teacher's aide at a local elementary school, and occasionally take ballet classes at Charlottesville Ballet, the city's only professional ballet company! I danced at the company's academy in high school, and continue to make my way out into greater Charlottesville to take class when I have the chance. CB is focused on their unique mission of dancer wellness, which is super important in the dance community but also in such an active city like Charlottesville!

One of my favorite UVa traditions is the first snowball fight on the Lawn. After the first big snow of the year, everyone floods the Lawn at midnight to have a huge snowball fight!! This year, it snowed just before fall finals in December, so the snowball fight was a great way to de-stress and just have a good time. My whole friend group met up and hurled chunks of iced-over snow at each other for a solid hour. Some people managed to knock out some windows on the Rotunda (not my friends!) and we got an angry email from our Dean of Students the next morning, but it was worth it for some fun.

Finally, I'm conducting research on racial disparities in music education, with the help of Curry professor Ben Castleman. UVa allows - and encourages! - undergraduates to get involved in research, either assisting with research a professor is already doing or getting help working on your own research, like I'm doing. Professors are typically more than happy to help you with your own ideas, or point you in the direction of someone else who can help. You can get involved with research as early as your first year, and most majors have opportunities for you to look into!

I hope this glimpse into my life as a UVa student was at least a little informative! I really love being a student here at UVa and I'd be more than happy to chat about anything I've mentioned. Please feel free to email me at ire3en@virginia.edu if you want to chat!