Silver City, NM- Anna Daggett was one of 400 students to receive a degree from Western New Mexico University on Friday, May 13, 2016. At only twenty years old, Anna received her Bachelors of Arts in the study of English and is now one step closer to her goal to be a music therapist, with the next step being a Masters of Social Work.
Anna is originally from the small town of Chama, NM and graduated from Escalante High Scool, where she was heavily in
volved in extra-curricular activities such as volleyball, basketball, trac
k, the robotics club, and the honors society. She also served as Student Body President. Since coming to college, Anna hasn’t been as involved in school but does serve as a President of WNMU’s Catholic club, the Newman Center.
At the time of the interview, Anna was still in disbelief that she was actually graduating. Like most undergraduates, Anna thought that she would be in school forever. “[Graduation] seems so unreal to me,” Anna said. “I can’t imagine graduating. It probably won’t hit me until I walk across the stage.”
Anna originally came to Western to be an education major, hearing that Western had a highly ranked program in the state of New Mexico. However she soon switched majors in order to have to wider variety of career paths, choosing English since it hd been her main focus all along.
Anna’s main passion is music and has recently completed a Music Minor. She is a Soprano vocalist and can also play a little bit of Guitarron and will soon start piano lessons during the summer. Her love for music often helps her to cope with things better and wants to share that love with others through music therapy.
Music therapy is a practice that focuses on using music to help others as an alternative to drugs. Anna described it as essentially, “When sad, you play minor notes, and when you’re happy you play major notes.” She noted that this form of therapy is particularly effective at helping autistic and special needs children.
Looking back, Anna said that her proudest achievement in her college career was finishing her undergrad at only twenty years old, after working very hard to achieve that goal.
Anna was one of many students to walk at WNMU 2016 Spring Commencement and starts graduate school at Western New Mexico University this Fall.
