A chill runs down your spine and goosebumps prickle up your leg. You’re experiencing something so rare your brain doesn’t know how to react. It sends a barrage of emotions throughout your body in an attempt to understand what’s going on. You are physically and mentally in awe, there’s no way you’re lucky enough to experience what’s happening in front of you. Whatever it is, it’s made an impression and you’ll do anything to have it again.

This might be a familiar feeling to anyone who has experienced beauty. Beauty can take many forms: an unforgettable vista, a magnificent painting or a beautiful song. Some people spend their entire lives searching for this beauty. Senior chemistry major Larisa Posada has spent most of her life giving people that opportunity through her voice.

“I’ve had people tell me ‘that was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard. For me to have someone have an emotion from my singing, that’s worth more than anything,” said Posada.

Since freshmen year, Posada has sung the national anthem at most of Pace’s sporting events. Her singing talent is instantly recognizable but it wasn’t always her defining skill.

Through High School Posada was a soccer player. She competed in tournaments for her high school’s team and eventually played for Pace’s soccer team during her freshmen year. Before games, Pace would play a recorded version of the national anthem and lacked an actual singer to perform the song. Posada approached the Athletics department about singing the national anthem herself; she was already at all the soccer games as a player. Athletics approved the idea, which led to Posada performing the anthem at every game, sometimes while wearing her soccer jersey.

By sophomore year of college, she was no longer on the soccer team, but continued to sing at all the sporting events held at Pace. For Posada, singing has been a part of her life since she was a kid.

When she was younger, Posada’s parents went through a prolonged divorce that caused a stressful atmosphere at home. To get away from the environment, she’d stay in her room all by herself and listen to music that she could sing along to. She’d listen to songs such as “You Raise Me Up” by Josh Groban, which Posada still lists as one of her favorite songs to this day. She soon realized that she not only enjoyed singing, but she was good at it.

When she’d play with her friends they would sing along to Spice Girls or Hanson Brothers while using hair brushes as a fake microphone. She would prance around her house claiming that she’d grow up to be a professional singer. Her family encouraged her to get involved in her school’s choir and develop her ability.

By eighth grade, Posada was offered a solo in her school’s choir. She sang a five word solo in Mandy Moore’s “Only Hope,” which she describes as the most difficult five words in her life at the time.

“I was incredibly nervous,” said Posada, “I always wanted to sing but I never thought I was good enough.”

This feeling stuck with Posada up until tenth grade when she performed with her friend in a duet for the talent show. They sung “Take Me or Leave Me” from the musical Rent and received massive praise from the audience. Despite Posada’s friend being more well-known as a singer, Posada received more praise for her talent and ability. This praise led to her requesting to sing at all of the High School’s sporting events.

When Posada came to Pace, she sang during orientation’s lip sync event and was noticed by a member of the university who was planning a 9/11 memorial for the school. She was asked to sing God Bless America and the National Anthem. Posada agreed and has returned to sing at the event every year since, which she still gets nervous about.

“The whole meaning behind that type of event, it’s the one event I don’t want to mess up,” said Posada, “if I mess up a sports game I think ‘whatever,’ but if it’s something truly meaningful, I get nervous.”

Posada describes her performances as mostly successful but she’s had her fair share of mistakes as well. At one of Pace’s swim meets, she accidentally coughed in the middle of the National Anthem. She quickly said “sorry,” into the microphone and continued the rest of the song.

“Things happen,” said Posada, “I can’t be perfect one hundred percent of the time. Every performance is a chance to get on stage and get better in some way even if you mess up.”

She may not be perfect, but her performance leaves an impression on audience members and fellow performers alike. In spring 2012, Posada performed “Sitting at the Dock in the Bay” at a talent show with another Pace student, Luis Yanes, playing guitar.

“I think she’s awesome,” said graduate information systems major Luis Yanes. “She has a beautiful voice and it’s not forced out. It’s just something that she does and she does it well.”

Yanes isn’t alone with his feedback. Over the summer, Posada visited China for an engineering program along with 49 other students. During the trip, there was a talent show where Posada performed “Halo” by Beyoncé. After the performance many of the students asked why she was a chemistry major and not performing on a stage.

“It’s not a very practical career to strive for,” said Posada. “It’s hard to get into that industry.”

Posada doesn’t think singing is the most stable career choice, but isn’t quite sure if chemistry is her calling either. She agrees she’s a more sociable people-person and has more abilities outside of chemistry, but isn’t quite sure what to do instead.

At the end of spring 2012, Posada had the opportunity to audition for The X Factor. However, auditions were the day after finals and she became sick with a high fever during the week of auditions and had to cancel plans.

“I don’t really believe in that type of thing but I do see it as a sign that I couldn’t perform that day,” said Posada. “I’m superstitious to an extent.”

For now, Posada plans to finish her college degree in chemistry while performing songs whenever the opportunity arises. Outside of sporting events for Pace, she plans on performing for the upcoming Pace Perk Talent Show and Phi Sigma Sigma Talent Show with Ryan Shields, a freshmen film and screen studies major who plays guitar. Shields believes Posada’s future will work out, regardless of what she ends up doing.

“She’s always studying and doing her thing. It’s rare to have that type of mind and being able to get up and sing as well,” said Sheilds. “I think she could be as successful as a singer as she is in chemistry.”

Posada might not end up with a career out of singing, but she does get a personal connection with each person who enjoys her performance.

“When I sing and somebody has a reaction to it, even if it’s just goosebumps on their legs, that’s rewarding to me. I know how music can touch me so when I can do that to someone else through a song, that feels really good,” said Posada.