By Tiffany Janiczek

DELAND, Fla. –  “Che fano senza Euridice?” sang Daison Michelle, as part of her Senior Recital at Stetson University’s Katherine Hall.

Each year, students at Stetson University perform their final performance, a collection of songs they have prepared during their time in school, before graduating on to bigger and better things.

Michelle, 24, is weeks away from graduating with a B.A. in Music Performance, and will be continuing on to the Berklee School of Music in Boston in the spring.

As a child in Hialeah, Fla., Michelle dreamed of going to Stetson.  “The first time I came here, I knew this was where I wanted to go,” said Michelle.

Steston only accepts 25 transfer students into their music program, so after graduating from a community college, “I knew my chances of getting in were slim, but this is the only place I wanted to be," said Michelle.

Upon receiving her acceptance letter to Stetson, “something my parents still have framed in their living room,” said Michelle, she quickly sought financial aid, as it costs $37,500 a year to attend Stetson.

Now that she is finally in the home stretch, Michelle stands proudly in front of her family, friends, other music students, and local residents, singing songs such as “Mon Coeur s’ouvre a ta voix” by Wagner, and “But not for me” by George and Ira Gershwin.

“Her voice was incredibly clear, like a ringing bell,” said Andrew David, a music education student at Stetson.

Erica Scheurer, a local Deland resident, has been attending Senior Recitals for the past 15 years.  “I try to make it to every recital,” said Scheurer. “These kids work really hard and I want them to know I’m proud of them.”

“It was hard,” said Michelle, when speaking of the music program, “but tonight, being up there singing my heart out, makes it all worth while.”