Guiding people on a journey of healing through music — especially those facing mental health struggles — was something Samantha Bowman (BMus ’24) knew in her heart she always wanted to do.

On Friday, June 14, Bowman walked across the stage during Brock University’s 115th Convocation and became one step closer to achieving her dream of helping people through music therapy.

Bowman’s path to earning a Bachelor of Music with a Concentration in Music Therapy Foundations came with many unexpected turns, such as applying to — and dropping out of — several post-secondary programs that were not a good fit.

When she eventually received a mental health diagnosis for depression, her life completely changed.

“I had been living with depression for a long time, but not known it. Suddenly, everything clicked into place,” she said.

Bowman knew that music was going to be an important part of her path forward.

As a vocalist, however, encountering an injury to her instrument — her voice — was not in the plan.

Bachelor of Music graduate Samantha Bowman (BMus ’24), bottom left, often performed with the Brock choir as she pursued her concentration in Music Therapy at Brock’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts.

Bowman decided that while singing would always be part of her music practice, she would shift her professional interests toward becoming a mental health professional that works with music therapy.

When she was accepted into Brock’s Department of Music at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA), she immediately felt that she was supported and set up for success in her chosen field.

“When you are learning in a safe and supportive space, you just thrive,” Bowman said. “Your best comes out and that’s what I felt at Brock, I was fostering the best version of myself.”

Karin Di Bella, Associate Professor and Chair of Music at Brock, said students sometimes start in programs because that is what they feel they should do, or that others want them to do. If it’s not something that truly interests them, however, they may struggle.

“When students come into a program that lights them up, they then succeed —  not because our program is easy, but because they are deeply invested,” Di Bella said. “Sam beautifully exemplifies this transformation and has excelled in our program.”

Through her studies in the Music in Community course, Bowman worked with a local organization called Major Progressions Music Therapy, which provides music therapy to residents of long-term care in the Niagara region. During the course, she completed a practicum placement which she said was “transformative.”

“It is difficult to get elderly people living with Alzheimer’s or dementia to want to get up, especially if they have chronic pain, too,” Bowman said.

During her placement she was able to assist with using music, in conjunction with other types of care, such as physiotherapy, to help those long-term residents manage their conditions.

Bowman also observed long-term care residents, who were non-verbal and struggling with cognition, listen to old songs they could recall the words to, which sparked joy and connection.

Bowman said her “life has been healed” because of her own ongoing therapeutic journey and “having the chance to be a part of somebody else’s journey through music” meant the world to her.

Thanks to her success at Brock, Bowman has now been accepted into Wilfred Laurier’s highly competitive Master of Music Therapy program, which only accepts 10 to 15 students out of the hundreds that apply.

“Nearly 10 years after I began my post-secondary education, I am now pursuing my dream career thanks to the support and skills I gained at Brock,” she said.

Looking to the future and motivated by her own experience, the aspiring music therapist aims to focus on mental health research and how music can alleviate suffering.