Luz Delgadillo, senior behavioral neuroscience major with a minor in psychology, is co-vice president of NSU’s a cappella group, the Riff Tides. She developed a love for singing when she heard Mariah Carey’s “Hero” for the first time.
She went on to explain what her experience has been like in the Riff Tides.
What is your biggest accomplishment in the Riff Tides?
“The thing that strikes me the most is when I first went to competition with the Riff Tides at the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella. It was my first year and I was a freshman, and I went there and we didn’t even place first through third, but we were the highest placing all-female group. I remember singing and being on stage and seeing the crowd and people walking up to me and saying, ‘You were great.’”
What are some of your best memories being in the Riff Tides?
“Competition is the best moment of all year class-wise and Riff Tide-wise. Going to competition, practicing for competition, killing ourselves for it and then going to see all these talented groups.”
What is the hardest part about being in the Riff Tides?
“Getting 22 people to find one exact time to meet every week, twice a week. It’s hard just because it’s hard to bond with 22 people who are all different and come from different aspects of life and majors, and everyone has different schedules. But as long as they love being there, and I love being there, I’d rather be there than home getting an extra two hours of sleep.”
Are there any conflicts between your major and your involvement in Riff Tides?
“Yes, in that the rehearsals are late at night because most Riff Tides, especially this year, aren’t arts majors. They’re mostly science majors and we all have classes that are at 6 p.m., so we have a hard time having rehearsals from 8-10:30 p.m.”
Did you ever consider changing your major?
“[Yes], I was taking Biology I and that is when they weed out the weak and I was one of them. I thought ‘Wow, I hate this class,’ and somebody suggested I go into musical theater…but then I found the Riff Tides, and it was really cool and I loved it. Knowing that I could be in Riff Tides without changing my major and working towards something with a group of people without sacrificing my love for neuroscience. I just decided not to change and to take Riff Tides as my outlet.”
Are there any performers you look up to?
“Demi Lovato is my idol, and people know me as the girl who loves Demi Lovato. There’s [a difference between] loving someone and admiring someone because they’re a good person, and I can honestly say that within struggles in my past, Demi Lovato and her music has saved me.”
