Ella Charles as an Example in the Intersection of the Music and Athletes
The University of Dallas promotes the education of the whole person; in other words, a UD education puts a huge emphasis on helping students to develop in many different aspects of life.
Even so, most students find themselves in a certain niche before too long. While it is not an intentional divide, many students end up choosing to devote their extracurricular focus to music, theater, or athletics.
This was not the case for Ella Charles, a sophomore Biology major and goalkeeper for the Crusaders, who plays the cello for university music events both in a solo capacity and as part of a chamber ensemble. Charles began playing soccer at the age of four and hasn’t looked back since.
“I started playing soccer at the age of four because my parents did what most parents do: they threw me into a sport and hoped for the best. Luckily, the sport was soccer” said Charles, remarking on her introduction to the sport.
Her musical career had a similarly casual origin, as Charles says, “I started to complete my fine art credit in middle school, but I fell in love with the cello and adored playing it.”
Balancing the two activities can be challenging, but Charles remains grateful for the challenge and the opportunity to participate in each of them, saying, “I have to face many dilemmas to hold myself to certain expectations, but I wouldn’t change anything I do. I am so thankful to God every day that he has allowed me to continue athletics and music in college.”
The combination of both responsibilities has taught Charles a crucial lesson: failure is a part of the process in any pursuit of excellence.
“I have failed many times before in both soccer and music and in the early days of attending UD, I used to beat myself up about failing at something. Losing a game and messing up on my solo was all the same to me until this past year.” said Charles. A watershed moment for Charles came in a conversation with her coach, Lexi Stinson.
“[She] told me one day that I could [not] succeed in everything, that I was going to fail, and that what I needed to do was manage the level of importance of each activity and then justify if my ‘perceived’ failure was actual or not,” said Charles.
A sense of balance is crucial for any UD student, but Charles faces the unusual situation of being in a rigorous athletic program as well as a challenging academic and musical one. She remarked on the value of the UD community for her life as a student, athlete, and musician.
“Balancing athletics and music is complex and tiring, but knowing who I am playing with and performing for has made it such an impactful part of my life that I am joyful for every moment I have with them,” said Charles.
Charles’s story is an example of the diversity of excellence and talent present in the student body of the University of Dallas. While we often divide ourselves based on differences of interest or specific talent, we have more to offer each other as a community if we explore multiple areas of student life.