Senior Of The Week: Sam Chalmers

Courtesy of Sam Chalmers

Sam Chalmers’ room was steeped in afternoon sun, blushing the beige-toned walls with an orange luster. With a crimson guitar strap pressed close, Chalmers sang “I Bet on Losing Dogs'' by Mitski. They filled the next 45 seconds with their raw, powerful voice mixed with deep bass notes of their acoustic guitar, serenading the Exeter community during this year’s UnSilenced virtual performance.

Performing at UnSilenced for Chalmers was an uplifting opportunity. “Recording [UnSilenced] and being aware of the fact that I'm opening myself up in a new way to people was very exciting,” Chalmers said. “I felt like I was finally ready for it… it was an honor [because] I didn’t expect to be asked to perform for UnSilenced, [and] it’s so cool that I was able to do that my senior year.”

Chalmer’s affinity for music has always played a central role in their life. They have experimented with a variety of instruments, beginning with piano at the age of four. Since then, Chalmers has developed a love for guitar, dabbling with the cello and harp in spare time. “I now have two guitars. And now [guitar is] my main instrument and my favorite to play.” Chalmers said. 

“As a guitarist, Sam has developed at an extraordinary pace over the years that I have known them,” Chalmer’s guitar instructor Eric Sinclair said. “Sam has come a very long way from their first gig doing an acoustic guitar and vocals rendition of ‘What’s Up’ by 4 Non Blondes at an EAR Acoustic Show.”

Sinclair also noted, “My favorite thing about Sam is how enthusiastic they are: about making music, listening to music, discovering new artists and songs, working on a new song, being finally able to play and sing a favorite song. In their guitar lessons, Sam has taught me about many fine musicians, songwriters and performers that I would have otherwise probably never discovered; and for that I am most grateful.”

Chalmer’s cello teacher Mina Kim appreciated Chalmer’s natural inquisitiveness. “Sam asks many questions to improve their cello playing, but never takes the answers mindlessly at face-value,” Kim said. “They know what they want to improve on and have a concrete idea of what they want to sound like. In that sense, I always think that Sam is naturally an original artist who has a clear vision of who they are.”

Kim also praised the originality of Chalmer’s UnSilenced performance. “I find Sam’s ‘I Bet on Losing Dogs’ very original, even though it is a cover of Mitski’s song,” Kim said. “I loved how Sam’s voice adds more darkness to the timbre of the song, and the reverb and repeating guitar sound created a mysterious atmosphere for their voice, which I thought worked very well.”

“Sam is an authentic artist, and I thought this performance was beyond a cover of someone’s song, but was an original of Sam Chalmers’,” Kim concluded.

Friend and senior Zoë Barron described hearing Chalmers sing for the first time. “I imagined that’s what it sounds like to walk through the gates of Heaven,” Barron said.

Physics Instructor Tatiana Waterman praised Chalmer as well, exclaiming: “What a voice!”

Chalmers attributed their intellectual “spark” to an Existentialism course they took in their upper fall. Looking forward, Chalmers hopes to continue their education at an institution that equally caters to their “creative passions and intellectual curiosities.”

“I want to study philosophy or social justice or something like that,” Chalmers said. “I want to figure out how I can be a musician and incorporate all these cool things that I like… whether it's my music or the way that I talk about my music.” 

Chalmers is unapologetically themself, and their authenticity has a radial force. “It has always seemed to me that Sam has always been Sam and that, to me, is what has made Sam an important part of the Exeter Community,” Sinclair said. 

Chalmer’s friend and fellow senior Claire Barbour recalled a time when Sam performed their music for Barbour in the Phelps Science Center one night. “In front of random people playing ping-pong, I sat on the floor in front of the stage and Sam performed their song at the top of their lungs in front of everyone, but just for me,” Barbour said. “Sam is an endlessly fearless person.”

One of Chalmer’s most prominent attributes is their outward self-expression, according to Barron. “I got my first glimpse of their killer style and immediately thought to myself, ‘OMG I need to be their best friend one day.’” Faculty and peers alike have noted their colorful pants, shaved head, and selflessness as trademark features. “People say I have a fashion sense,” Chalmers said. “I just wear what I want.” 

“Sam has always pushed the boundaries of expression, and, through their own self-discovery, encouraged others to do the same,” Chalmer’s friend and senior Valentina Rogers said. “You can spot Sam from a mile away, and they embrace that. Not many people can pull that off. 

“It's been really cool to watch Sam find the inner beauty most people are still searching for,” Rogers continued.

Advisor and Dorm Head of Kirtland House Courtney Marshall agreed. “Sam has an ability to see people having similar challenges and offers themselves up as a role model,” Marshall said. As a proctor of Kirtland House, Chalmers said, “It’s been very interesting to go from being the recipient of the love fostered in my dorm to the one who fosters or helps foster that kind of environment.” 

Outside of their dorm, Chalmers continues to be a supportive presence. “As a day student, it has been harder and longer to believe myself part of the Exeter community,” Barbour said. “But being in Sam's community, or even presence, exists beyond the Exeter bubble and has countless times made me forget my isolation.”

Additionally, others appreciate Chalmers’ willingness to always help their friends overcome obstacles. “Whenever I got discouraged this past fall term, Sam invited me to sit with them on the Kirtland House porch and chat while we enjoyed hot chocolate together,” Rogers said. “They just listened to me complain about whatever problems I was having, regardless of how meaningless those problems might've been. It takes a special kind of friend to do that.”

Upper Lindsay Machado reflected on working with Chalmers at the Exeter Exchange, the Academy’s student-run thrift store which they co-head together. “We would be so tired going through piles of clothes that hadn’t been touched in years, and I would look up to them modeling the ugliest graphic shirt I had ever seen and the job wouldn’t seem so bad. I don’t know how I’m going to run it without Sam, but they’re definitely irreplaceable.” 

The love and support that Chalmers radiates doesn’t go unnoticed. Upper Janessa Vargas, Chalmer’s best friend, said that “Some of my best memories with Sam are when they made me get out of a studying hole, and we would trek out to the woods to sing at sunrise.”

“Sam has a unique way of seeing the world, one that entails seeing all the good in people before their flaws,” Vargas said. “We need more people that are as kind as Sam.”