As her first year at The Crane School of Music drew to a close, amidst studying for finals and packing up for summer, Johanna Saint-Vil ’25 donned a periwinkle satin dress and joined twenty of her friends in a residence hall lounge. The fellow students wore similar formal attire—black tuxes and velvet mini-dresses—perfectly primed for prom.
In reality, the gathering was a birthday party for a friend, but Johanna organized the entire event to look and feel like a high school prom—a rite of passage not all high school graduates experienced the previous year due to the pandemic. For her, this party was a perfect representation of the community she was grateful to have found and fostered at SUNY Potsdam.
“Now that I am in college, one of my favorite parts is definitely being so close to people and always having that community and the opportunity for spontaneity,” Johanna noted. “The community at Crane is so encouraging and inclusive, and I absolutely love it.”
As a high school senior, Johanna did not experience the typical comradery of a graduating class. Because her local school district did not return to in-person instruction until the spring of 2021, she ended her high school experience as a homeschooler—ultimately finishing all of the credits she needed to graduate before January and then working full-time in the spring to save money for college.
Her atypical senior year had greater implications than not having a graduation ceremony; it also disqualified her from receiving scholarships from her local school district, thus requiring her to stretch her savings even further.
“I am known to be very frugal, and I saved everything I could just to pay for this first year of college. I recognize how hard I have worked to get here and fund this education,” said Johanna. “That knowledge has helped me to remain driven and motivated to make the most of my opportunities in Crane.”
Johanna, a classical pianist, chose Crane because of the “sheer number of opportunities” available to her here. When comparing colleges, she was impressed by the multitude of programs and courses at Crane that could supplement her music theory major.
“Originally when I entered Crane, all I wanted to do was become a music theory professor, but now there are additional paths of study I could pursue (such as history and pedagogy) so that when I do become a professor I will be qualified to teach more.”
For Johanna, adding a music education major not only increased her course load; it enhanced her perspective.
“Through my time in Crane, I have entirely redefined myself as a musician but also as a future educator. Especially this past semester, a lot of my classes really forced me to imagine myself as a teacher and as the authority in the room, which I had never really had to do before. It’s been really interesting learning to make those conscious choices about what I do want to do in my classroom and knowing what the options even are.”
In five years, Johanna hopes to have finished her bachelor’s and master’s degrees and be teaching elementary level music while pursuing a PhD in music theory or pedagogy. Once receiving her doctorate, she plans to teach at the college level.
Because of her interest in pedagogy, Johanna’s studio professor suggested she find a summer opportunity to expand her knowledge. Upon discovering the Piano Pedagogy Workshop hosted by Nazareth College, she immediately sought to engage more participants from the other piano studios and request funding from Crane.
This workshop was not her first hands-on learning experience as a Crane student. In Spring 2022, Johanna was asked to participate in a masterclass with Julliard-taught concert pianist Sara Davis Buechner, an opportunity generally reserved for upperclassmen.
“It’s definitely a different style than I receive with Dr. Castella,” she explained, “so I was very grateful for that opportunity.”
Johanna has also been asked to serve as an accompanist (for both individuals and the Crane Opera Ensemble) and to join a trio for A Concert for Equity and Equality at the end of the fall semester, playing “Lift Every Voice and Sing” alongside two vocalists.
After a year of exceptional experiences at SUNY Potsdam, Johanna was unsure whether she would be able to return in the fall, not knowing how she would pay for her tuition and expenses. Then, in May, she received notice that she had been awarded the Virginia Rose Cayey '60 Music Education Scholarship, which supports music education students so they can take advantage of the activities offered at SUNY Potsdam and in the North Country.
“The scholarship was actually the exact amount that I thought I had to make over the summer, so when I read that I was so unbelievably grateful,” Johanna expressed. “It ensures that I will actually be able to go back to Crane and continue my studies.”
Johanna is inspired by Virginia Cayey ’60, the scholarship’s donor and an alumna with a 32-year career teaching music in public schools.
“I think it’s absolutely incredible that she is funding this scholarship and that she is a donor,” Johanna says. “I have had it in my mind for the past three of four years that once I do make it through school and I become a professor, I would like to fund a scholarship because I think it is such an important way to make education more accessible.”
For now, however, Johanna is content to enjoy the time she has left at Crane—making memories with her community and appreciating every opportunity to expand her perspectives.
To learn more about donor impact at SUNY Potsdam, visit potsdam.edu/donorimpact.
For more information about The Crane School of Music, visit potsdam.edu/academics/crane-school-music.
Article by Alexis Donnelly ’18