Jordana Qi

Class of 2018
Major/Minor: Psychology/Music Major, Ethnomusicology Minor

Washington College has been a wonderful place for me to explore a number of interests and take some great classes. 

As a first-year student, I took “Intro to World Music and Ethnomusicology” in the fall of 2014 with Dr. McCollum. During that class, I learned that I enjoyed studying music through an anthropological lens, and quickly declared an ethnomusicology minor by the beginning of sophomore year. While taking my third class in the minor, I decided that I would benefit from taking music theory classes as well, and eventually declared a major in music. 

The music program at Washington College has given me numerous opportunities to pursue different areas of interest. I conducted historical research on sea shanties during my freshman year, but was still interested in learning more. Thanks to the Gerda Blumenthal Phi Beta Kappa Award, I was able to go to Connecticut and attend the Sea Music Festival at Mystic Seaport, where I interviewed two musicians about their experiences performing historical music in current society.

During the summer of 2016, I completed an internship with Smithsonian Folkways in Washington, DC, where my duties included social media marketing and writing album descriptions for the Folkways website. I also hosted a video for the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage’s Global Folklorist Challenge. The music department was incredibly helpful and supported me through the internship application process.

In January 2017, I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to Cuba, where I met renowned Cuban singer Ernesto “Gato” Gatell. He graciously invited me to be a part of his concert at Washington College in April 2017 (Cuban Treasure).

My other areas of interest include psychology and disability studies. I took a class entitled “Introduction to the History of Disability in the United States” with the 2015-2016 Patrick Henry Writing Fellow, Dr. Benjamin Irvin. This class exponentially increased my interest in this field, and I hope to work in disability advocacy in the future. 

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  Jordana Qi

• In Tune With the World