Stella Cole ’21
What have you been up to since graduation?
I graduated in 2021 with a double major in theater and international studies, a minor in German, and a certificate in musical theater. I moved to New York City shortly after graduation to follow my dreams of being a performer. When the COVID-19 quarantine started, I was a junior in college. I decided to take a semester off school and moved home to live with my parents. Out of boredom, I started posting videos of myself on the internet singing jazz and pop songs from the 1940s and 1950s. These videos started to gain traction online, being reposted by musicians like David Foster, Michael Bublé, Meghan Trainor, and James Taylor. Currently, I have a combined total of 1.5 million followers and 12 million likes across social media platforms.
I’m still based in New York City, but since the beginning of 2023, I’ve been traveling the world doing concerts. (I’m still waiting to perform in Germany so I can put my minor to good use.) I’ve performed at iconic venues such as Madison Square Garden, Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Blue Note, Birdland, Town Hall, 54 Below, and Cafe Carlyle. I’ve also toured the United States, Australia, and New Zealand with Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox. I’m so excited to say I’ll be releasing my debut studio album this August, made in collaboration with Grammy-Award winning producer Matt Pierson and orchestrator Alan Broadbent.
Who made an impact on your life at Northwestern?
I chose Northwestern because I knew I could get an incredible academic education while also getting amazing training in the arts. My acting teacher, Cindy Gold, is an incredible educator who had a huge impact on me. She always encouraged her students that the best thing we could do to improve our artistry was to read books, travel, go to museums, or fall in love; in essence, to go out and live our lives. As I navigate what it means to be an artist outside of a college classroom, I'm finding that to be completely true. Cindy was so important to my journey as an artist, because she believed in me as a performer at a time when I really didn't believe in myself. Her belief in me still means so much.
Funnily enough, my Russian literature teacher, Gary Saul Morson, is probably the person who had the second biggest impact. His lectures were hilarious, wise, and profound. Most people believe that life is about one’s big achievements or huge dramatic moments. Professor Morson teaches his students to instead focus on the ordinary everyday things. Anytime I find myself taking the small joys for granted, I think about his lecture on Anna Karenina and finding “gold in the sand.” My Northwestern friends still bring up Gary Saul Morson's lessons on romantic versus prosaic love when we're talking about dating. As I write this, I’m really wishing I could go back and study with Cindy and Professor Morson again!