“I can focus on refining my skills and preparing for the next steps in my education, my life and my career.”

Vanessa VanSickle
Music Performance, German minor (A 2008)
Recipient of the Monica H. Briggs Scholarship, the Arthur and Erika Kubey Scholarship Fund in Music (a Holleran Scholarship Challenge Fund), and the Patricia Askwith Kenner, MM 1966, Endowed Fund for International Studies

Growing up in a small Indiana town, Vanessa VanSickle knew that she wanted both the musical instruction of a conservatory and the diversity of experiences that a university could offer. One visit to Carnegie Mellon confirmed that it was the right choice for her.

“I remember the first day I moved in, the whole week of orientation and meeting so many great people,” she recalls. “From then on, it’s been the best college experience I could have ever asked for. I’ve visited friends at other institutions and music conservatories that I considered attending and I know I would not have been as happy as I am here. The people here are just amazing. I truly love it.”

The availability of financial help, however, is what made her choice possible. “On top of the typical expenses that my family and I were facing, I also play a musical instrument (a bassoon) that costs about as much as a second mortgage,” says Vanessa. “If I didn’t have these scholarships, I wouldn’t have been able to choose Carnegie Mellon.”

Financial assistance allows students like Vanessa to focus on the rigorous schedule that many Carnegie Mellon students maintain. The hours spent in class, practice and rehearsals do not leave much time for a job. “A lot of times I’m going until about 9:00 p.m., so the support that scholarships offer really helps take the pressure off financially,” she says. “I can focus on refining my skills and preparing for the next steps in my education, my life and my career.”

Another benefit to receiving a scholarship is that it puts students in contact with a network of peers and donors who they might not have met otherwise. “We’re all so busy and focused on our own goals, that when you meet people who have either given money to the university or others who have received it, it’s so nice to get to know them,” says Vanessa. “I have friends from so many of the different schools and programs now – new drama friends, chemistry majors. It’s a great new network for me.”

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