By: Joey Mullins
 
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Today, we continue our series named the S-Club Profile, focusing on former Samford student-athletes and giving updates on what they have been up to since finishing their Samford playing careers. In this month's edition, we highlight former track and field standout Camille Caldwell.
 
Caldwell competed on the Samford track and field team from 2016 to 2019. She came to Samford from Franklin, Tennessee, and Brentwood Academy. Caldwell said the family atmosphere at Samford was among the reasons she chose to attend the school.
 
"I think one of the biggest things was the campus, just how well it's put together, it's beautiful," Caldwell said. "And then I'm a real home-type of person and it did remind me of home, I think because of the size of it, I didn't really want to go to a huge school. Just how everybody on campus knew each other, I liked that a lot. And of course, the track team, they're real successful, but it was a family-type of environment. I'm big on family and Samford reminded me of family."
 
Caldwell and the women's track and field team were extremely successful during her time at Samford. The Bulldogs won four Southern Conference Indoor championships and two SoCon Outdoor titles, while Caldwell took home individual SoCon titles in the women's weight throw and hammer throw.
 
"We had a high standard for ourselves," Caldwell said. "Those times we did lose, it was hard for sure. We set the bar high, but I think it helped us become a lot closer because we knew what to expect and when we dropped below that we knew what we had to do to go get that championship again. We had great leaders in front of us, so we knew what was expected."
 
Looking back at her time at Samford, Caldwell said she is proud of being able to finish her degree, despite a somewhat rough academic beginning and she is grateful to the people who helped her get there.
 
"It was rough in the beginning," Caldwell said. "I struggled with my GPA until about my junior year. But I had a really good support system. Michelle Durban, Rod Tiffin, Harold Goss, they really stuck by me to where I ended up pulling it up to about a 3.6, which I didn't think that I was going to get there, but I did. So, for me I think it's just I wanted to drop out, but they stood by my side, it was like they weren't going to let me quit."
 
Caldwell graduated from Samford in December of 2019 with a degree in communications. Since she graduated, Caldwell has been involved in the music industry, which is something she has always been interested in through her family. Her father, Victor, is an award-winning music producer and engineer and her aunt is recording artist CeCe Winans, the best-selling female gospel artist of all time.
 
"I was actually on my first album at four years old, a CeCe Winans album," Caldwell said. "So, it's in my blood, my dad's in the music business, my whole family is in it. It's just something I grew up around. But I knew coming to Samford trying to juggle music and track was going to be hard, which is why I chose the communications degree. But I always found ways to participate in music somehow by singing the National Anthem at a lot of games on campus."
 
Not long after graduating from Samford, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, shutting down most industries. Caldwell said the music industry was no different, but she was still able to stay active during that time.
 
"As soon as I came out, of course, there was COVID," Caldwell said. "So, things shut down, which hurt the music industry as a whole. But I continued to write songs, I put out five singles. I was featured on Kirk Whalum's album, he's a Grammy-Award winning saxophonist. I was on a few TV shows in Nashville, I sang the National Anthem at Vanderbilt games."
 
Caldwell also recently signed a song-writing deal with one of the songwriting teams with the record company LVRN. She talked about what her responsibilities with that new deal entail.
 
"We're in a push right now because we're reaching the end of the year," Caldwell said. "Right now, we're working on, it's going to be about 200 songs, but we're going for about 30 hits before February 1^st. So, we're in a grind time right now."
 
Caldwell talked about the kind of music she most likes to make.
 
"I'm a big R&B fan," Caldwell said. "I'm really diverse, I can write anything. But, as far as my solo career if I'm not writing for anybody, I like R&B."
 
As she begins her career in music, Caldwell said she has big goals to reach as she continues rising in the music business.
 
"I would like to be one of the biggest songwriters out here," Caldwell said. "I do love being an artist, but I have always loved the creative process and enjoying what's going on before it reaches the big stage and just what it took to get to where the final finished product is."
 
Caldwell moved from Nashville to Atlanta in July of this year. There, she is also pursuing an acting career, taking acting classes with a group called Premier Actors' Network, while still working on her music career. She said acting is something she has always been interested in, along with music.
 
"I acted as a kid, I was with an agency," Caldwell said. "Of course, track started getting really heavy in my life, so I took a step back. But I got back into it as soon as I moved to Atlanta, because I was actually commuting from Nashville to Atlanta in April, May and June, so I decided I was just going to make the move in July."
 
Caldwell said between music and acting, music has always been her first love. She said being able to share her story with other people through her songs is what makes her really drawn to music.
 
"Music will always be my first love," Caldwell said. "It's not just because I've been doing it longer, it's just because I'm able to tell my story. I think especially with the world we live in today, it's just so powered by social media and what people think life really is. I just think people are really going through it and people want to see that somebody else is going through the same thing and we're still making it, we're overcoming."
 
When you talk to Caldwell it's obvious, she has a bright future in her chosen field. So, do not be surprised if you see her as one of the top songwriters in the very near future. She is someone who already has and will continue to make those of us involved in the Samford community proud.
 
For more information on the S-Club and for giving opportunities, please contact E.J. Brophy at wbrophy@samford.edu.