Many Binghamton University students first explore campus because of its collegiate opportunities, whether culture or athletics. For Itzel Robles Valdez, these options only factored in after her interview: she first decided to come to campus to meet just one professor in person.
“I met Brenda Iglesias via Facebook in 2020,” Robles Valdez recalled. “I heard her in an online interview and was astonished. She’s Mexican and comes from a very similar context to me. And I thought, ‘She needs to be my teacher.’ So, I reached out and asked her if she could give me some lessons.”
A Spanish-language translation of this story is available here.
Una traducción al español de esta historia está disponible aquí.
Fast forward a few years, and Robles Valdez’ dream came true. Today, she is a soprano and a Binghamton student in the Master of Music vocal performance program studying under Iglesias, and she’ll be graduating this spring.
Iglesias is an assistant professor of voice in the Department of Music, and Robles Valdez was interested in her specialization in vocal pedagogy — teaching people how to sing in the best way for the body. This work involves anatomy, physiology, acoustics and neuroscience, and many of the concepts involve breaking “myths,” such as the idea that singing with your belly will solve all musical problems.
Originally from Torreón, Mexico, Robles Valdez found this information unavailable or hard to find at home, especially in Spanish. So, after encouragement from Iglesias to come to the U.S. to learn, she decided to take action.
“I started reading more of this science-informed pedagogy — how we can teach it — and it became my dream,” Robles Valdez said. “It inspires me to keep sharing this information in Mexico someday. It’s like a musical revolution for me, and I want to be part of that revolution.”
Robles Valdez comes from a nonmusical family. She first discovered her love for music as part of a church choir, though she almost gave it up: she originally intended to pursue a psychology degree. Ultimately, though, she graduated as the first woman to earn a bachelor’s degree in music from her region’s college.
Her dedication to the craft has led her to overcome challenges to pursue her dreams, including one that many students encounter: how to afford a degree.
“I applied, and they gave me an audition. Professor Thomas Goodheart was the one who did the interview, and he told me that they loved my story and that I had a beautiful voice, but that he didn’t know if they had a full scholarship. I told him that if I didn’t get that, I probably couldn’t come, but I needed to try,” she said.
Robles Valdez was one of the early recipients of the Graduate Students of the Arts (GSA) scholarship. This award, the result of an anonymous family endowment, covers full tuition for 15 incoming fine arts graduate students with exceptional skills in performing, writing and visual arts.
Despite this, she continued to face financial hardship when she made it to campus. While some may have found the situation impossible to manage, Robles Valdez worked hard to make ends meet using the campus food pantry as a resource. She showed her appreciation by asking guests to her graduation recital to provide a canned donation.
While at Binghamton, Robles Valdez also discovered that being on stage was sometimes difficult. With the help of her professors, student colleagues and the University Counseling Center, she soon learned to manage her music performance anxiety and its symptoms.
Her commitment paid off. In 2024, she was awarded a spot as a soprano soloist with the Binghamton University Symphony Orchestra for Carmina Burana, which she describes as a full-circle moment.
“I sang it in Mexico as part of a chorus in 2013 or so,” she said. “I was on stage with the lights, listening to the music and I thought, ‘What if I studied this?’ It was my first big opportunity at the University, and knowing the words would be the same as when I first thought of being a musician was so special.”
She has also performed roles in other opera productions, such as Nanita in How Nanita Learned to Make Flan, which Robles Valdez felt especially proud of because its main character and composer are Mexican, and the story discusses her own culture and traditions.
Throughout it all, she has worked to support herself by teaching voice online to students in Mexico. She also offered a lecture in Mexico on vocal hygiene, practices that help protect the health and function of the voice, minimize strain and promote optimal vocal performance. The gratitude she received in response from participants — which included other singers, educators, actors, broadcasters and announcers — has further galvanized her love for the field.
“I really love being a voice teacher, and I want to do it seriously. Being a teacher has helped me to be a better communicator, as well as a better student and singer,” Robles Valdez said. “Now that I have this other context of being here, with these resources, I have more tools and strategies to share.”
Although Robles Valdez earned a doctoral audition at the University of Miami, she has decided she needs a break from the costs and pressures. Instead, she will return to Mexico to share her knowledge — though she does plan to return to the U.S. someday to earn her doctorate since teaching, research and collaboration is her lifelong goal.
As she approaches the end of this step in her journey, she’s incredibly proud of the work she’s completed. But she reminds herself that none of it would have been possible without support.
“I can say proudly that I’m a Bearcat,” she added. “I want the institution and my scholarship sponsors to know that I’m very grateful, and that they really changed my life. I’m grateful for my family, boyfriend, friends and my community from home; my classmates and my teachers; for the counseling center and Tracy Lord; for the food pantry, and so many more. And for the international students who are struggling, I just want to say: be patient, because it’s difficult, but you will find angels on the way.”
