I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with one of NASH’s most vibrant personalities.  She is tenacious, witty, intelligent, and friendly.  She drives a motorcycle to school and is the first female Drum Captain of the Tiger Marching Band — hence her unofficial title, Little Body Big Guns.  She is the epitome of a free spirit.

An Army child born in Virginia, Amy Muhlenkamp moved to Kansas, then to Germany, then back to Virginia, and finally to Pittsburgh, where she and her family have settled.  Because of her geographical adventures at a young age, Muhlenkamp is especially well educated in all matters pertaining to German culture.

“The Germans do it all better,” she said.  “When I was a kindergartner in Germany, we had naptime during school every day in our own cots.”  

Miss Muhlenkamp returned to Berlin last summer to soak in the culture and language of the German people.  It was in Berlin where Muhlenkamp discovered her favorite German saying, ”Jetzt haben wir den Salat,”  which translates literally as “Now we have the salad” but actually means “Now we’re in a pickle.” 

Prior to her David Bowie-esque Berlin immersion, Muhlenkamp explored her inner Viking on a trip to Iceland.  “If there’s one thing I love, it’s Iceland’s ‘hot g-u-ysers,’”  she quipped.

Puns aside, Muhlenkamp described Iceland as “a land of adventure and vast open nature.”  She elaborated, “ I really enjoyed swimming in the natural water of the geysers.  Additionally, it is a unique place because you’re so isolated from other people.  But I have to say, the sliced bread and sweaters of Iceland are really the greatest.”  

Muhlenkamp purchased her favorite sweater in Iceland and fashionably wears it to school  In fact, it is her favorite color, “spunky blue, the kind of blue that soothes you and makes you feel happy.  The kind of blue that you would go on a car ride with at 3 a.m. until sunrise.”

In addition to grand travel experiences and spunkiness, Amy also has many other unique hobbies, talents, and characteristics.  Let’s explore a few.

Hobby #1: She rides a motorcycle and drives a truck.  Yep, you read that right– women can ride motorcycles, too.  At a young age, she learned how to ride a dirt bike and a tractor at her grandparents’ farm.  She spent much of her childhood at her grandparents’ farm dirt biking, farming, and dancing in the barn.

Hobby #2: Volleyball/sports.  Muhlenkamp was a promising volleyball player before sustaining several concussions.  In fact, she comes from a family of expert, passionate volleyball players– her parents met playing volleyball in the U.S. Army.  One of Muhlenkamp’s favorite memories is of her family competing in a volleyball tournament against college students in Pittsburgh.  They were just a weird family of four competing against college students.  They bested the competition, took the grand prize of Emiliano’s gift cards, and left.  Don’t mess with the Muhlenkamps, folks.

Hobby #3: Music.  Miss Muhlenkamp is the first female Drum Captain of the North Allegheny Tiger Marching Band.  She dedicates much of her time improving her immense drumming skills.  As a fellow drummer and musician, I can attest that she is a very precise, technical, and phenomenal musician.  I am glad and proud to call her Captain.  

“Being the Drum Captain can be difficult,” she said. “I have to be a leader and a friend simultaneously.  I feel like I have to be perfect to set a good example and I take criticism to heart.”  Despite the tomfoolery and shenanigans of the Drumline, she manages to lead us and make us play clean while having a great time.  Not an easy task, but one that the superhuman Muhlenkamp can undertake.

In addition to drumming, Muhlenkamp has found her true inner self and solace in songwriting.  She plays the ukulele, sings, and writes original songs.  She is a firm believer that “chords are like stem cells.  There are many possibilities just based from one arrangement or note.” Her latest single, called “Comfortable Love,” which you can listen to here, is about a short-term relationship with a girl she was dating.  

Openly bi-sexual, Muhlenkamp has no qualms about expressing her identity. “It wasn’t really a surprise to anyone,” she said.  “I was always a tomboy.  I liked guy’s clothes and people often mistook me for a boy.”  

In middle school, she grew to resent this part of herself and became very homophobic.  But during her junior year, everything changed when she was invited to a GSA meeting while believing she was straight at the time.  This meeting made her feel like she was supposed to be there for a reason. She soon came to the revelation about her true sexual identity.  

The support she has received from family and friends has only strengthened her resolve.  “Before you love someone,” she said, “you must love yourself.”

So now you know the story of the legendary Amy Joy Muhlenkamp.  You can find her in the halls playing ukulele or rapping lyrics to “Hamilton,” or thundering down Rt 19 on two wheels, or slaying it on various assortment of drums.  Perhaps one day she will get her dream job of being a masseuse in Germany and a snowboard instructor.  Wherever Amy ends up in 20 years, we know she’ll be finding happiness and spreading it to others.  Amy’s advice for us all is worth taking to hear: “Find something that makes you happy, and use it to make other people happy.  Find happiness in whatever you do.”

Be a spunky blue, folks.

https://open.spotify.com/album/7lOwbsf5vhk35KgbXnB8g3?si=g8BS7557