Name: Michelle Sander
Year: Senior
Major: Zoology
Hometown: Galion, Ohio
Campus Involvement: President of Miami Misfitz, Phi Mu, Greek impact, Christians in Greek community for both fraternities and sororities
I recently had the opportunity to interview Michelle Sander about her Misfitz Involvement. Michelle is one busy girl as she wraps up her senior year. She is not only president of The Misfitz, but also involved in Greek life. Her music career started in high school and blossomed here at Miami. She has much to be excited about while currently planning her wedding, which is this summer in Oxford. Her fiancé also went to Miami. Can you say Miami-Merger?
HC: What does the Misfitz stand for and what do they do?
MS: The Misfitz is an all girls A cappella group, student run. Even though we are a student organization and have an advisor, we arrange all our own music and take care of expenses and plans. It’s a really cool experience to run an organization and take care of everything. I would say what we stand for is being diverse. We pride ourselves in this and being able to produce good music that requires collaboration. It is a cool opportunity to have this dynamic, which you don’t always have in other groups. We have girls from every social and racial dynamic, and for us to come together and create something as a group is so incredibly cool for us.
HC: What are your responsibilities as President?
MS: I handle all communications; if we plan events, I am the one that people contact. I also run practice. We have a music director that teaches us the musical aspect. I schedule conflicts, handle gig requests, and deal with any concerns personally or socially within the group.
HC: How long have you been singing and how long have you been in The Misfitz?
MS: It’s my second year in The Misfitz. I started singing my freshman year in high school. I was in show choir, the musicals, and the ensemble choir.
HC: What inspired you to join The Misfitz?
MS: I love music! Music is something that really does bring joy into my life, and I have really enjoyed my time here at Miami, but I thought this could enrich my experience. It also is an avenue to be creative. Being a zoology major doesn’t give me the most open minded and creative education, and the Misfitz is something different to experience.
HC: What have been some of your favorite memories as a member of the Misfitz?
MS: There are a bunch that come to my mind. One in particular is when we went and visited a group in Eastern Michigan. We like to make connections with other groups in colleges, and we performed with them in their school. After, we hung out with them and we found out we had the same arrangement for the same song, and we had a sing off with each other.
HC: What music do you sing along to when you are not with the Misfitz?
MS: I sing to everything. I love Adele, Michael Buble, Josh Groban, Ingrid Michelson, Coldplay, and Guster.
HC: Do you have any plans with music after graduation?
MS: Well, I’m engaged, and getting married this summer. I’m really excited. But long story short, my fiancé is an engineer and has rotation in Iowa for a year. It’s going to be a random year where I am going to try to find a job. I also want to get a masters in education, and ultimately teach high school sciences. I thought about trying to get involved in high school music too, such as helping out with the musicals or being the show choir director.