"I had challenges – and Utica met those challenges head-on."
They say if you can dream it you can do it, if you put in the work you will achieve your goals, if you put your mind to it you can do anything, and there truly is no better representative who embodies these sayings better than Dr. Sherry Anne Lints. Dr. Lints, better known by her stage name of Sherry Anne, was born with a bilateral hearing and speech impairment, yet has gone on to have a very successful singing career, topping Billboard charts and singing on some of the most prominent stages in the country.
“I was five years old before the school nurse detected that I had significant hearing loss in both of my ears,” she said. “By this time, my speech impairment was already set in and consequently, resulted in a late start in life. I was given one hearing aid and it was recommended that I attend a school with other students like me. So, I was bused to a school for deaf and hard of hearing children, where I was exposed to those who did not speak and was immediately taught basic sign language. Right away, I knew I was different and began to cry. I told my mother that I did not want to be in a special school, but that I wanted to be like everyone else. This started the process of my mainstream education.”
With the help of now two hearing aids, seven years of speech therapy, note takers, tutors, and understanding teachers, she went on to become one of the top students in her elementary school, her high school, and won scholarships to then-Utica College, where she graduated in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in Biology and a minor in Psychology. During her time on campus she was a member of the Asa Gray Biological Society, where field trips to the Baltimore Science Center and Hershey Park, among others, helped further her passion for the sciences. Guided by her professors and advisors at Utica, most notably Dr. Lawrence Aaronson and Professor Melodee Moltman, Sherry Anne prepared herself to further her education in the study of Chiropractics. She went on to study at the New York Chiropractic College where she earned her doctorate, even returning to Utica to deliver the 2010 Convocation address.
“It was at Utica that I was a name and not just a number,” she said. “It was here that I formed some lifelong friendships with not only colleagues, but also, faculty members. The personal tutelage and instruction that you have the opportunity to receive at Utica is astounding and is to be commended. These personal relationships are particularly important to me. I had challenges – and Utica met those challenges head-on. It was here that I was encouraged to exceed expectations."
After 21 years in the chiropractic profession, Sherry Anne retired from the practice in 2019 to pursue her music career full-time.
Sherry Anne has been singing, or as she refers to her early years, “screaming,” since she was five years old. She comes from a musically talented family so a desire and pursuit of the arts was almost intrinsic. Being hearing impaired posed some challenges while Sherry was in pursuit of her musical passion, but her deep love for music meant she would let nothing stand in her way.
She says her biggest challenge was learning pitches, but with the help of vocal teacher Holly Weiss, the two worked tirelessly over the course of many years to develop and perfect Sherry Anne’s pitches. Her perseverance has paid off, earning her high praises from Bill Gaither who was dubbed ASCAP’S Christian Songwriter of the Century. "Anybody from the music field knows this: to sing you have to be able to hear. And how this young girl does this, I do not know. She has a terrific voice," Gaither says.
While she admits there were certainly some setbacks, Sherry Anne has shown her naysayers that a hearing impairment did not equate to an impossibility when it comes to a singing career.
And what a career it’s been. Her Sherry Anne LIVE! DVD debuted at number five on the Billboard Music Video Chart in 2018, she has won countless awards and honors for her songs, and has even starred in various television and movie productions. Her talents have graced some of the biggest stages in the country, including the Landmark Theatre, Kleinhans Music Hall and Chapel at Crosspoint, the National Quartet Convention Main Stage, and Dollywood, to name a few. In addition, she has spoken at numerous conferences, sharing her story and other inspirational messages to millions of people. She attributes her ability to connect with people in various circumstances to her psychology minor at Utica, which has clearly served her well over the course of her chiropractic and musical careers.
Sherry Anne’s story is an inspiration to so many, proving to anyone that if you want something badly enough all you have to do is put in the work, silence the doubts of those around you, and go out there and chase your dreams.
“If you can dare to dream it, you can do it,” she said. “But you must set goals.”
- written by Victoria DeLuca
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