Education student pursues passion for music

It was a football bye weekend in State College. 

The dark, eerie, parking garage sat nearly empty.

Penn State student Ella Seebacher made her way to the fifth floor for an adventure in an unassuming place.

Seebacher is a third-year student studying middle-level English education. One day, she hopes to give students the freedom to be creative.

You see, Seebacher’s creativity will soon echo off those dark, eerie walls. Her words will morph into ballads. Her style is influenced by one of her favorite country artists - Megan Moroney. 

Simply put, Seebacher can sing.

 Growing up in Mars, Pennsylvania just outside of Pittsburgh, Seebacher says she had a difficult time in school.

“I was labeled  a “problem student” pretty quickly growing up because I would finish my work early and had an issue with disrupting the class by talking,” Seebacher said.

That is until she met an influential teacher her senior year of high school. Darcy Silbaugh showed her a space for her to feel welcome and wanted. Silbaugh is a 2005 graduate of the Penn State College of Education. It’s a relationship that set Seebacher on the path to becoming a teacher.

“She saw me as a person first and a student second. This made me wish I had that feeling sooner. I want to be that teacher for kids in middle school, which can be a very hard time for most kids,” Seebacher said.

Seebacher followed her older sister Amanda Jaindl (‘13 Smeal) as a student at Penn State - after taking a visit to Happy Valley. She watched Amanda dance at THON. The experience sticks out in her mind as a reason for attending Penn State.

“I knew then and there that I wanted to be a part of THON one day. So when the day came to start applying for schools, Penn State was No. 1 on my list,” Seebacher said.

 Once on campus, she started singing in an all-female a capella group Savoir Faire. Her passion for education - and music - have already helped her build relationships with her classmates.

Her talent caught the attention of millions of people online. She is a bit of a TikTok sensation on campus.

Seebacher (at the time of this writing) totals more than 96,000 followers on the social media platform. She typically performs song covers for her audience - including a spur of the moment duet with a live performer at a restaurant. That video currently sits at 12.7 million views - with others garnering millions of viewers, too.

 “I feel like I was born with the passion to sing. I was singing before I could barely even talk, and really I can't remember a time in my life where singing wasn't a part of it,” Seebacher said.

Her talent led her to this late-night performance - back in that empty parking garage.

Seebacher needed some help. She enlisted fellow Penn State student Nick Plank. He is studying to be a dentist one day. On this night, his talent carried in the strum of his guitar strings. The two had never performed together before.

They picked “Tennessee Whiskey” - a country classic first recorded by David Allen Coe in the 1980s. The pair had never performed together before. 

Spontaneous just works.

Seebacher and Plank worked their way through the song recently made famous by country singer Chris Stapleton. It took a few hours - plus a few cameras, lights and microphones - to all come together.

Seebacher is not quite sure what’s ahead after she graduates in May 2026. Her journey could take her to classrooms full of students. It could take her to venues full of fans. She hopes to continue to inspire the next generation of learners with her passion - and her voice.

“I want to spread happiness with my music. I want to make people feel seen and heard and that they can relate to the songs,” Seebacher said. “I just want to have some positive impact. With teaching and singing.”