[STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo.] – Saling Simon took an unusual route from the mountains of Colorado to the ivy-covered halls of Harvard University, with one of the most definitive legs of his journey beginning at Colorado Mountain College.
This spring CMC President Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser received Simon’s Harvard graduation invitation, along with a handwritten note thanking the college for kick-starting his higher education. Simon began his coursework at CMC in Steamboat Springs in 2006 and graduated this May from Harvard with a degree in psychology.
Originally from Evergreen, Simon began playing in a piano duo with his concert pianist father at the age of 6. “I grew up on stage,” he said. “All through elementary school, I was performing about a week out of every month. In middle school, I did big Asian tours over the summer. I did a couple tours in Korea and Japan. In high school, I was performing so much that I was home-schooled. Sophomore year, I was performing full-time on cruise ships.”
During those years, school was something he squeezed in around his performance dates, but college always remained a goal for him. Following high school he took a year off to live and work in Silverthorne. “That year was a great benefit to me,” he said. “It was a nice transitional year to rethink my life – where I was, where I was going, what was on the table for the future.”
From Colorado prodigy to focused scholar
While entertaining the idea of college, he visited CMC in Steamboat Springs with his parents. “I remember thinking it would be a really good school for me to get a solid academic foundation,” he said. “There was a really solid, positive feel to Colorado Mountain College.”
He took the leap, moved into the residence hall in Steamboat Springs and began taking classes full-time. “I was never an academic kind of guy,” he said. While at CMC, however, he made classes his focus and played concerts only sporadically. “I might have dabbled on stage with one concert a month, but nothing to interfere with my schooling,” he said.
The strategy worked, and Simon made the Dean’s List while taking core curriculum classes. “The beauty of CMC was the small classes,” he said. “The professors were very approachable, and the structure of the classes made them fun.”
Simon still credits his CMC English composition instructor, Rebecca Potter, for teaching him how to cite sources in formal research papers, a skill he used often at Harvard. “CMC is where I learned to succeed academically for the first time in my life,” he said, “which benefited me in my future academic experiences and in everything else.”
Unusual path to Ivy League – and beyond
After his initial coursework at CMC, Simon picked up a few classes at Red Rocks Community College and then transferred to the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. While home over Christmas break, his parents told him they’d received word that Harvard was interested in admitting him as a transfer student.
Simon’s father had a friend who worked in the music school, and the friend had spoken with the admissions department about Simon’s unusual circumstances. “Essentially, Harvard wanted me because of my unique background,” he said.
He leapt at the chance but decided he wanted to major in something other than music. He’d taken a summer course in psychology prior to enrolling at UNC that had sparked his interest. “I thought it was a subject I could be passionate about,” he said.
Three years after beginning his coursework at Harvard, thanks to earned transfer credits, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from one of the top-rated schools in the nation.
“If you go to Harvard, people think you’re getting a better education than anywhere on the planet,” he said. “But my experience at CMC was tremendous, and it was absolutely a solid foundation for any educational experience I’ve had anywhere – including here at Harvard.”
Now that he’s graduated, Simon will tour with his father while working on a memoir about his musical career. “If I could have a perfect occupational life,” he said, “it would be to perform on a limited level – not huge tours – and to have a music therapy psychology practice. My music has always been very therapeutic to me, and I’d love to share that with others.”
With a Harvard degree and his prodigious talent, he’s well on his way to create the future of his dreams. “I feel very fortunate that I’ve had the personal life experiences that I’ve had, as well as the academic experiences,” he said. “Eight years ago, when I started at CMC, I never would have guessed that I’d be finishing my degree at Harvard.”