University of Wisconsin LaCrosse: Violet Englebert

Violet Englebert is studying musical theater at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse.

What made you decide to study musical theater?

When I was a senior in high school I did not think that I would ever end up a musical theater major. I loved singing and I had been in every production at my school since sixth grade, but when I thought about what my future was going to look like, no matter how much I loved theater and the arts it just didn’t seem like a viable option for me.

What attracted you to the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse?

My parents were supportive and always appreciated my abilities musically and theatrically, but they suggested that I look for a career path that was more sensible, so when I started looking for colleges I was mostly interested in the pre-med and pre-law programs. I figured I could tryout for shows in my free time.

I was on the UW-La Crosse website looking at their biology department when out of the corner of my eye I noticed their theater page and I couldn’t help myself. I started to think about how much work and time the pre-med and pre-law programs were going to take and realized that I was never going to be able to be as involved in the theater department because I would be spending all of my time studying and I started to get so upset. I cried, super hard.

The thought of losing theater, of losing such a big part of myself, was too much. I knew that I had to do musical theater and because of the response it had elicited from me, I decided La Crosse would be the first place I looked for a good program.

What do you like about the school?

La Crosse is simply a wonderful place to go to school. I knew that the second I set foot on campus. Something just felt right and I’m glad that it did because I have never found such a supportive and welcoming environment. The professors genuinely care about you learning something and gaining skills from each exercise and activity. For me, it is the perfect balance between competition and work that makes you a better performer and emotional support and respect that keeps you a healthy performer. There are so many opportunities to get involved and try things that I never thought I would be able to do like lighting, building sets and costumes, and managing a house.

University of Wisconsin La Crosse opened up a million different avenues for me in a field that I absolutely adore, and I hope that any people who are reading this consider La Crosse if they’re looking to go to school. UW-La Crosse gave me a new family and a place to enjoy and hone my craft and that is worth its weight in tuition.