Fourth-year marketing student Farah "Camille" Shahida uses her love of music as a way of bringing people together and building a sense of community while performing for others.
Camille produces several genres of music, ranging from soft country to pop. She said her love for music started when she was a child, learning from her dad who is also a guitarist. Her songs have been centered around personal events in her life over the past two years, Camille said.
“I wrote a couple songs about moving to college when I first moved,” Camille said. “There's been some heartbreak ones, all over the place.”
Camille said she takes inspiration from several artists, including John Denver and Taylor Swift when writing her originals.
"I just play a couple chords ... and then it inspires me, and (songwriting) just kind of comes naturally," Camille said. "I just randomly get lyrics in my head, and then I go back and actually write it down and fix things."
Camille recorded her song "Time" in Nashville, Tennessee when the opportunity arose. Recording this song was a memorable experience for her, making it one of her favorite songs, Camille said.
John Kouame, a fourth-year pharmacy student, has sung with Camille at a few gigs, such as the St. Pats celebration in Five Points. Camille and him have bonded over practices, sharing stories and Camille helping him write a song about his feelings, Kouame said.
While practicing Camille's originals for performances, Kouame said he was able to relate and think about himself as he learned the true meaning behind the songs, whether they were more pop or country-styled.
“She puts her emotions into her songs,” Kouame said. “When she would explain to me why she was writing that song and how she came to write that song, she actually has a purpose behind it.”
Katie DeMartini, a third-year music industry studies student and Camille’s classmate, originally met Camille during a smaller coffee shop gig at the start of the fall semester in 2024. Listening to Camille’s music was “amazing,” she said.
DeMartini said she likes how Camille uses storytelling in her music to get her messages across and her lyricism is what sets Camille apart from other musicians.
“I remember when I first heard her first song ... she sang it in our songwriting class, and everyone was kind of just taken aback,” DeMartini said, “She has such a beautiful way of singing it and just portraying her emotions.”
Camille has a different meaning behind each song and using her lyricism helps paint the picture of what the song means and helps display her songwriting talents, DeMartini said.
The hardest part of being a musician, according to Camille, is finding ways to get a song released that grabs attention because there are so many aspiring musicians. It can be hard to have a song that "makes it," as well as people seeing her on social media, Camille said.
Even though producing hit songs can be hard, Camille said she wants to connect with fans through music that they can relate to and inspire people to create their own music.
“I've been doing gigs for maybe two years, and I love it,” Camille said. “I just love when there's a good crowd that really connects with my music and it looks like they're enjoying it. So I love it if they love it.”