Finding Her Voice: Forgive Semackor ’25 Earns University’s 1st Music Degree in 30 Years

“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.” — Plato

Forgive Semackor ’25 blazed a trail at Saint Leo University that now other students can follow. Semackor, of Riverview, FL, became the first graduate in the university’s Bachelor of Arts in Music Program in 30 years when she crossed the commencement stage on May 7. 

The daughter of Ramona Diaz-Semackor and Stephen Semackor, she graduated from Brooks DeBartolo Collegiate High School in Tampa before attending Saint Leo. 

“I knew I wanted to be a teacher, and when I found out Saint Leo was reintroducing the major [music], I decided that it would be a great choice to teach a subject that I was really passionate about,” Semackor said. 

In Fall Semester 2023, Saint Leo once again began offering a music major, building on the success of the minor in music and based on prospective students’ interest in pursuing a music degree. “The bachelor’s degree is a practical degree that can be paired with a minor to enhance the student’s career options,” said Dr. Cindy Selph, associate professor of music and music ministry, and director of the Music Department. “We see four areas of focus: music education, commercial music, church music, and community music.”

Semackor plans to use her degree to begin work as an elementary school music teacher. And she also hopes to “work in live performance as a music or stage director.”

While Semackor said she began singing later than many of her peers, it quickly became a passion. “I started in the ninth grade because I had to pick an extracurricular that seemed fun, and I guess it just stuck,” she said. 

As for her favorites, Semackor said, “I love listening to movie scores, Motown, musical theater, and ’70s music. However, when I sing, I don’t try to emulate anyone, because we all have different voices for a reason.”  

At Saint Leo, she became the president of the Saint Leo Music Collective and served as a Student Government Union senator. Saint Leo also led her to the famed concert venue Carnegie Hall for a second time. 

“I’m really grateful that I was able to sing at Carnegie Hall in New York this March,” Semackor said. “It was my second time singing there, and with my first time being in high school, it felt like a very full circle moment to be able to do it before graduating college.”

While she used her voice to bring joy and entertainment, Semackor also found strength in her voice while at the University. “I am not a very courageous person, but Saint Leo has given me the courage to speak up and advocate for myself and those who cannot,” she said.