Lyda Plummer, a vibrant local Galveston musician and proud member of the Galveston College Class of 2016, is part of a family legacy of GC alumni deeply intertwined with the college’s history.

Following in the footsteps of her mother, Gerri, her brother Matthew – a dedicated Respiratory Therapist at The University of Texas Medical Center – and her sister, Plummer graduated with an Associate of Arts degree, with a concentration in Political Science, and she continues to make waves in the Galveston community, both through her music and her family’s enduring connection to GC.

Plummer’s time at GC was filled with discovery and self-growth. A home-school graduate, GC provided Plummer with her first school experience. She participated in theater club and productions, the Student Government Association, Photography Club, and she attended softball and baseball games. Plummer also discovered she had an affinity for math, and after excelling in her classes, was asked to help tutor other students.

One of the benefits of a close-knit community college, Plummer developed relationships with her professors. She mentioned GC math instructor Rigo Santoyo, who encouraged her to become a tutor for math students, and Michael Berberich, professor of Humanities, whose “first class she hated, and second class she loved,” as being highly supportive of her writing, along with his listening skills.

Her passion for music developed at an early age. Plummer has been writing music since she was 12 years old and describes herself as a self-taught musician, but credits her brother Matthew as the reason for her learning how to play an instrument.

“My brother, Matthew, is the reason I learned how to play guitar,” said Plummer. “He always had instruments around the house.”

Her mother and father sang, and he also played guitar. She indicated her love of pop and country music and admitted she turned her mother onto the Jonas Brothers, one of her favorite bands.

Plummer’s songwriting took center stage in 2020 during the pandemic when people were all at home because she wrote many songs during that period.

In June 2023, her world changed dramatically. With her bags and car packed, Plummer was planning to continue her career in Nashville, the country music capital. However, she was in a serious automobile accident and sustained a severe back injury along with a shoulder rotator cuff injury that left her unable to hold a guitar. The recovery process was long and slow. But at the end of physical therapy sessions, which eventually included walking daily afterward, she started noticing the flowers blooming and the people she knew around her neighborhood.

“I know that I am here for a reason. My car accident really calmed me down and helped with my anxiety,” said Plummer. “I see now that we are always in a rush, to go to work in the morning, to get home in the evening, in a rush to get to bed and get to sleep so we can go to work the next day. And we just repeat the cycle. When you almost lose your life in a traumatic accident, it rewires your brain. I know that if I had died, I would have lived my last few hours rushed and stressed out.”

Plummer's brush with mortality didn't just slow her down, it tuned her into a new rhythm. Now, instead of rushing through life, she's channeling her energy into her true passion: music.

“My main goal right now is working in the studio, recording my original songs and then releasing them,” said Plummer. “It’s a process and I have a lot of songs that I’m working on. I’m recording at home, at a studio here in Galveston, and also working with a team of musicians in Nashville”.

With her newfound rhythm setting the tone of her musical path, she encourages current and future GC students to take advantage of their time and the opportunities offered at GC.

“At the moment, you feel like it is going to last forever, but it flies by so fast,” said Plummer. “Utilize your opportunities at Galveston College to the fullest. If you are studying for an exam or a project, do it like it’s the last thing you will do. Instead of being pressured and rushed, approach it differently. Reality is out there, and stress is reality. It’s not that bad to slow down.”

To learn more about GC alum Lyda Plummer, follow her on social media, and see her perform at 6 p.m. on Aug. 1 at Maceo’s for the Summer Sidewalk Sessions.