Ella McCarthy’s “Why I Chose TLU” story is a little unusual. She’s a dramatic media major, but it wasn’t the theater program that drew the Lockhart native to Seguin. It wasn’t the choir program, which would become such an important part of her college life, either. It wasn’t the encouragement of a close friend who was also becoming a Bulldog. And it most definitely wasn’t because she’d fallen in love with the tree-covered campus. It was more a mixture of abundant scholarship offerings blended with a dash of fate. “I chose TLU on a whim, actually,” she admits. “I had a list of schools to apply for and TLU gave me the most scholarships, so I took it.” In fact, McCarthy, now a senior, hadn’t even set foot on campus until the day she moved in—but the winds of luck were blowing in her favor, and she didn’t even know it at the time. “This whim of a decision turned out to be one of the best I’ve ever made, and I wouldn’t change that choice for the world.”
McCarthy’s journey to selecting dramatic media as her major came a lot more naturally. In fact, she’d declared early on in life that she would find her way into the spotlight. “When I was eight, I said I wanted to ‘be an actor on a stage,’” she says. “Ever since then I’ve been making theater and exploring this art form. Call it destiny or just plain stubbornness, but it’s just something I’ve always known I have to do.”
McCarthy must’ve been born with a song in her heart as well. Her mom attests that she was singing before she even started talking. By third grade, she’d joined her first choir and never looked back—all the way through her college years, choir has remained important to her. This spring, in fact, marks her final semester in the TLU choir. “I find music a unique art form, separate from theater, through which I can express my emotion and thoughts. There is something so vulnerable about singing in front of a crowd, even more so than speaking or acting. That vulnerability is so important, and I see it less and less. People are afraid to be open, to show their heart to the world. I hope the TLU Choir showing our hearts to this community can make a lasting impact.”
That impact will, no doubt, be evident at TLU long after McCarthy graduates in May. That’s what artists do, after all: leave their mark on the things they touch and create. For McCarthy, those fingerprints are left all across the campus, by way of classes, choir, and TheatreXpress—the student production company at TLU. TheatreXpress, McCarthy explains, is “connected to the Drama department but it’s much more student oriented; what they want to produce, the art they want to share,” she says. “I always say theater-making at TLU is so unique because you get out what you put in. You make the opportunities for yourself; you decide what art you want to create. That freedom is not something you find at every school. Now more than ever it’s time to create art and tell the world how you feel, and I think TheatreXpress allows students to do just that.”
McCarthy is also a member of the prestigious Black and Gold President’s Council, a group of students who are nominated by faculty and staff members and undergo a rigorous interview process in order to be among the few who are chosen. BGCP members act as ambassadors for TLU, attending numerous events on behalf of the university and remaining consistently active on campus—all while maintaining at least a 3.0 grade point average. “I’ve loved being in BGPC!” says McCarthy. “I had the great honor of taking Dr. Cottrell’s Women in Texas History class a few years ago. Working closely with her then and now has taught me so much! I have also met so many students, board members, and supporters of TLU, and seen how much love is poured into this school.”
It's those connections with others that mean the most to McCarthy—and more than any one single shining memory, it’s the little details that she holds most dear. “When I look back on my time at TLU, some things that stick out to me are the little connections with people throughout the day,” she says. “Seemingly insignificant interactions that actually mean the world. Walking into the ASC to warm hellos and smiles, changing your walking route to accompany a friend to class, grabbing a coffee in Tschoepe with someone and having an impromptu yap sesh. These little things might blur together in many years, but I think they make the biggest impact. And in the end, that’s what I’ll remember from my time here: the love that I feel.”
That aptly sums up what sets TLU apart from other universities in McCarthy’s mind. In a word: community. “To me, TLU is its people,” she says. But there was a time when she thought of leaving. “When I first started attending TLU, I was planning on transferring to another school after my first year. I was dead set on it. But at the end of my freshman year here, I looked around at the friends I had made and the relationships that were only just beginning to blossom and I thought, what a haven I have made here, and what a shame it would be to lose it.”
She’ll be carrying the good things she’s gained during her undergrad years with her when she heads across the pond in August. “I was accepted into a master’s program in England at Goldsmiths, University of London!” She’ll be studying Applied Theatre: Drama in Education, Community, and Cultural Settings. “All I can hope of the future is that I never stop creating art, making friends, learning, laughing, and putting goodness back into the universe.”
And why not? After all, that’s exactly what she’s been doing for the past four years at TLU—exactly what the little girl who was drawn to the stage at the tender age of eight has always done. Creating, connecting, laughing, leaving her mark . . . sharing her song.