Letter From the Desk of Lea Marshall
Lea (right) with fellow staff member, Jess Kanoff
By Lea Marshall, NDMV Alum ‘21-22 and National Site Manager
Music is always on my mind. I have a song for every situation, moment, thought, and feeling. I love listening to music alone while I’m working, driving, running, or cleaning. I love the memories music evokes.
When I was younger, my father would play me a song and quiz me on the artist; more often than not, I wouldn’t know, but it was a game we loved. I’ve carried that tradition into adulthood, only now I quiz him on current songs, and he usually has no idea. (However, his knowledge of Taylor Swift’s discography has grown over the years.) I love listening to music with my friends and sharing new songs. But more than anything, I love the community music creates.
For me, music has always been a bridge; one that brings people together and shows how connection can grow. When you discover that someone loves the same artist you do, it creates an instant conversation starter. From there, the discussion can go in countless directions, but what matters is that a meaningful exchange begins where there might otherwise have been silence or surface-level small talk. These shared moments remind me that service often begins with something simple: listening, relating, and meeting people where they are.
I have been with Notre Dame Mission Volunteers for four years now; three years as staff, and one year as a volunteer. During my year of service, I served in Baltimore, Maryland, where I worked with adults through GED tutoring and ESL practice. While I have many meaningful memories from my time as an NDMV volunteer, one moment has stuck with me for the past three years.
One of my GED students consistently showed up to our tutoring sessions and did the work, but she always seemed to have one foot out the door, ready to leave at any moment. If I’m being honest, our sessions felt almost transactional. I struggled to connect with her. And you might expect me to say that we bonded over music or discovered a shared favorite song, but that’s not what happened. It was actually much simpler than that.
Lea (left) with her cohort of NDMV volunteers in Washington, DC, in 2024
At the start of every session, I asked how she was doing. One day, instead of responding with a routine “fine” or “good,” she answered honestly. She was struggling to balance GED classes, tutoring, her job, and caring for her kids; a reality I often saw among adult learners pursuing their GED. They carried full lives and responsibilities that frequently competed with their education. I could tell she had a lot weighing on her, and in that moment, I decided we should maybe skip the algebra and just talk. What she needed most that day was someone to listen. So I did. I listened without interrupting, offering advice, or trying to fix anything. I met her where she was and gave her what she needed at that moment.
I wish I could say that from then on our tutoring sessions were easy or that we suddenly became close, but that wasn’t the case. What did happen was quieter and more meaningful: a connection formed, and with each interaction, it grew.
That experience showed me that I have opportunities to build bridges with others in various ways. Sometimes they are formed through shared songs, and other times through quiet, intentional listening, but both create space for connection and ultimately, community.
Lea (center) with volunteers and staff during MidYear 2024
I took some time to write about what each song means to me:
I’ve Seen It - Olivia Dean
The overall theme of the song is love and its presence in our lives. Dean never outright says the word “love,” but through shared experiences, we as the audience understand that this is what she is alluding to. She conveys emotion through quiet details like gestures, memories, and moments of togetherness, rather than through explicit language. Love comes in many forms, and at its root, is about connection. Service toward a person or community is one expression of that love.
DtMF - Bad Bunny
For me, this song represents community not so much because of the lyrics as because of a specific moment. Around the 3:22 mark, it’s no longer just Bad Bunny singing; it becomes a collective voice. That shift from an individual to a group transforms the song into something communal and shared. The song and the album it belongs to had a significant cultural impact. At its core, the album carries a message about unity and belonging. That sense of community was echoed powerfully during Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show, when the phrase, “The only thing more powerful than hate is love,” was projected onto all the screens in the stadium. In that moment, the message extended beyond the music, reinforcing the idea that community, love, and solidarity are ultimately stronger than division. The same things that I like to believe service echoes.
Dance with Me - Orleans
Dance with Me by Orleans reflects community and connection for me because of the memories it brings back. The song makes me happy, and I often play it when I’m with friends and family.
Oh, What A World - Kacey Musgraves
Connection goes beyond relationships with people, as reflected in Kacey Musgraves' song. She marvels at the vastness and intricacy of the universe—nature, space, plants, animals, and the Earth itself—highlighting how we are all part of something much bigger. It serves as a reminder that a connection also exists between us and the natural world, even though people can overlook that bond in everyday life. The song’s sense of wonder and awe feels grounding and helps to remind me of those moments.
I’m Only Me When I’m With You - Taylor Swift
This is another song filled with happy memories for me. I associate it with the people who make you feel like your truest, most authentic self; the ones you can relax around completely and just be. There’s a comfort and ease in that kind of connection, and the song captures that feeling perfectly. Plus, it has a fun beat. Whenever it comes on in shuffle, I’m instantly seven years old again, playing this on the CD player and jumping around in the living room with my mom.
I hope you enjoy the tunes and that they give you opportunities to build community with the ones around you.
