The first time I ever checked an MTA cast list was in the fall of 2000. I was beyond nervous when I walked into the Lavender Lounge. I was an extremely shy freshman (Yes me...shy) and I chose not to fight through the overwhelming crowd of strangers that was swarming the bulletin board. I waited patiently in the back of the crowd until the opportunity presented itself for me to get a good view. I quickly scanned the list, didn't see my name, shrugged my shoulders and thought to myself, "Well, I tried my best. Maybe next time." And I started to walk away. And I immediately bumped into a friend who enthusiastically congratulated me. I was baffled. "Congratulations? For what?" I asked. Apparently, I had read the list so quickly and nervously that I missed my own name on a list of only nine people! I would be playing Chiffon in the production of Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Bill Sanders. I was utterly speechless...

Speechless...for about five minutes, until I ran out of the Trexler Pavilion and up the stairs and saw my two friends Jamie and Melissa coming from another direction. I was so excited to tell them my news that I bolted towards them, but tripped over my own shoe and tumbled three times until I finally landed on the pavement. Without skipping a beat I said, "Hey, guys! My name...it was on the list!" Jamie looked down at my leg and gasped, "Oh Mia, your leg. It's bleeding. You're bleeding all over the place!" Yeah, that nasty pavement had ripped right through my new jeans and left me a mangled mess. But somehow I didn't notice the pain or the fact that I was probably going to become light-headed from the blood loss. Needless to say, I showed up at my first rehearsal for Little Shop of Horrors trying to cover the fact that I was limping and flinching each time I took a step...

And I had the time of my life. The cast of Little Shop of Horrors was a close team with a great coach. It was truly an ensemble production. It remains my favorite experience in all of college. It made the transition from high school to college an easy and exciting one for me. Little Shop of Horrors was the first of many shows I would participate in during my four years in college, but somehow I knew on the day of our closing performance that I would never have an experience like that again...and I was right. Every time I think about my freshman year at Muhlenberg, I am reminded of what it means to be part of an ensemble. We all work hard and hope to be cast in the roles we dream about, but I have found that the experiences I love and remember the most about my four years at Muhlenberg are not necessarily the times that I had a great role to play. The experiences I will miss the most are the ones that allowed me to walk side by side with a group of people working towards a common goal...

And now I'll let you in on a little secret. Whenever college becomes overwhelming and I feel that I am in need of a peaceful moment, I take a walk to the Baker. I sit alone in the balcony of the empty theater and I enjoy the quiet. I think about my time at Muhlenberg and the many wonderful friends and mentors I have encountered along the way. I have been taking those trips since I was eighteen years old, and still a baby in this department. And now, at twenty-two, I sit in that balcony and I am unsure of what lies ahead of me. But the Baker, the Empie, each studio and empty spot of lobby space I could find has been my home for four years. But I know my turn is up, and I feel that I'm ready to go now because in each of these spaces, I created things that I will be proud of for the rest of my life. Now it is your turn. So go grab a space and make something until 2:00 a.m. I'll never stop cheering you on.