Sabrina Lugo thinks she has always been a bit of a therapist.
As an undergraduate, Lugo started her own business doing nails and noticed that clients she had never met before were opening up to her in very personal ways during their sessions.
At the time, she was a struggling biology major thinking of going to medical school. But after taking her first psychology course, she quickly changed her major. She decided to pursue a Master of Science in mental health counseling, and she graduated in spring 2025.
“I liked connecting with people in that way,” Lugo said. “Giving them the space to feel safe and share has been something I value about myself, and that people seem to value about me.”
“I love a challenge,” she said. “They’re often resistant at first, but once they open up, they learn so much about themselves. It goes to show it’s never too late to change.” Growing up, Lugo sang in choir and smaller performance settings but hadn’t performed publicly in years.
Yet, when she saw that SHP was seeking a student to sing the national anthem at her 2025 convocation, she applied – and was accepted.
“Music has always been a form of self-care and something I carry with me. I wanted to show that there’s more to us all than what we’re studying in school.”
—Sabrina Lugo, Class of 2025She was also motivated for her five-year-old daughter to see her perform as a culmination to all the hard work of her degree and to show her that she could do anything she put her mind to.
“I was so nervous, but she told me I did a good job,” she concluded with a laugh. “And she would have been brutally honest if I hadn’t.”
