Student Profile: Shelby Schroeder
Maybe it’s seeing your name on the cast list. What about the butterflies in your stomach as the curtain goes up? For Shelby Schroeder, the best part of a theatre production is when it’s over.
“I love the part after the show when you’re able to see people’s reactions to your performance, especially when you’re really able to move someone,” she says. “Knowing that you did a good job and that all your hard work really meant something are such strong feelings.”
Schroeder has loved performing since she was a child. From the first time the Grosse Pointe Woods junior stepped foot onto Alma College’s stage, she knew she could see herself performing here for the next four years, she says.
“Joe Jezewski spent four hours talking to us about the theatre program, and it just clicked,” she says. “He was so passionate about what he did, and I felt like I belonged here. You can really develop personal relationships with your professors at Alma. You’re not just a number. You’re a human being.”
Schroeder is a double major in psychology and theatre, the perfect combination for helping her learn about the characters that she plays and their internal and external motivations. No matter her role, she says she has good reason to love the theatre program.
“It’s never a competition because we’re family,” she says. “Even if two people are going for the same role, we always congratulate each other after the cast list is posted. We’re all working hard toward the same goal, which is putting on really great productions.”
