Harmonizing Research and A Cappella: How Music Fuels My Scientific Journey

Posted on by Nathan Nguyen

Photo of the members of the Princeton Footnotes in the year 2024-2025, taken at Rocky courtyard
Photo of the Footnotes, Princeton’s fresh low-voice a cappella group founded in 1959

Imagine standing in front of a big audience, heart racing, ready to blend your voice with others and hit the notes of an intricate a cappella arrangement. Every beat, every breath, is crucial. Every time I stand on stage or under an arch with my a cappella group, the Princeton Footnotes, I think of how similar singing and music feels to what I do in the lab. You might be thinking that singing in an a cappella group and doing research are worlds apart. However, these two passions have formed a bond in ways that I never believed possible. In fact, the creativity, collaboration, and discipline I have channeled in being a part of the Footnotes have made me a better researcher—and vice versa. 

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The Eternal Struggle Between Academics and Extracurriculars

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It’s the beginning of a new semester, and I’m sure many students are asking themselves the same question I ask myself time and time again: How much can I realistically take on? Balancing academics and extracurricular activities is always delicate. And even though it feels particularly strained right now as I prepare to write my spring JP, I know how important it is to find time for what I love to do. The purpose of this post is not to provide some cure-all for your scheduling woes — because everyone works differently — but rather to talk about what has worked for me.

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Snapshot from PUP’s Fall ’14 production of Little Shop of Horrors, in which I played Seymour — a botanist who must murder to feed his man-eating plant.

Most of my time outside of class is dedicated to theater. I have performed in many productions on campus and serve as the Princeton University Players’ Vice President. Beyond the immense joys I find in making theater, it has taught me how to effectively manage my time: an invaluable skill for big research projects. Since rehearsals often run late, I’ve had to learn to speed-read during 10-minute breaks and work productively during time off. Luckily, there is support in the struggle to get everything done. McGraw has resources to help us develop more effective time management strategies and to make our time more productive.

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