I was born in Sierra Leone in western Africa and adopted by a family in Connecticut when I was 3. I didn’t speak English yet, but music was a language I could understand. My parents used to sing me to sleep, and music quickly became my second language. Whenever I’m singing, practicing or performing, it feels like home. 

When I was a little girl, I would tell people that I was going to be a singing doctor — someone who helped people while singing to them. I had not yet learned about the scientific benefits of music, but I was living proof of it. Music has guided and shaped my life. 

Some of my earliest memories are visits to my grandmother’s nursing home, which I thought was the happiest place on earth. She was on the swim team, loved community events and even taught my siblings and me billiards in the activities room. From then on, I knew I wanted to work with older adults.

Gradually my two passions converged. I trained as an opera singer at Interlochen Arts Academy, where I first learned about music therapy. I went on to study it at Ohio University.

Seeing music therapy in action changed everything. As a student, I worked with a woman in memory care who had been nonverbal for years. After weeks of music therapy, she sang her name to me.

I think of that moment often. It was the moment I knew I’d work in memory care.

During the pandemic, I was an activities assistant at a senior care center in California. Overnight, as lockdowns took effect, I became a bridge for families and their loved ones, a companion for the lonely, and an advocate for improving residents’ quality of life with less reliance on medications. Movement, friendship, music and connection became the foundation for better health and deeper human connection.

It’s a focus I’ve brought with me to my work at University of Vermont Health - UVM Medical Center. The work isn’t easy, but it’s worth it — especially being able to bring out a part of someone that memory has taken. Sometimes, all it takes is a little companionship. And it never hurts to try music.

Ashley Snow is an activities coordinator at UVM Medical Center.