Senior Speaker Tachynel Merveille: From One Stage to Another

By Tia Porter

Tachynel Merveille in “Water by the Spoonful,” a play by Quiara Alegría Hudes, in which she played Haikumom and Odessa (Photo by Matt Otto)

Tachynel Merveille is a graduating BFA acting major and will give a speech as the senior speaker at Purchase College's 54th Commencement Ceremony. Throughout her time here, she has gotten involved all over campus, making events like Afrodisiac and Culture Shock possible. When Merveille isn’t working for the community, she’s either on stage, acting in student-run productions, or in the kitchen cooking meals for her and her friends. Now, after five years on campus, she’s ready to walk across a new stage and move on to her next big adventure.

What shows have you been in at Purchase?

I've been in many shows. Recently finished “Romeo and Juliet” a couple months ago. I've been in “Mad Forest,” I've been in “Stick Fly,” that was actually one of my favorite shows I've done.

Did you come here knowing that you wanted to go into acting?

Actually, I did not. At first, I came here doing theater and performance, kinda figuring out what I wanted to do, then I was like, y’know what? Your girl might wanna pursue acting for real, so I chose the BFA acting program. The class above me, Company 49, they were raving about how great the program was, and how intense it could be, and I was like, you know what? I’m up for the challenge. I love a little intensity.

How’s your speech for graduation going?

Oh, today I hit the home run, and I don’t even watch baseball! But I hit that thing. I am making so much progress. I’m basically done. You know, it’s funny because I think it’s an expectation to be fully memorized, being that I’m an acting major. Underlying expectation, like “Oh yeah, she got it. She’ll have that whole thing memorized.” But we’ll see.

I’m worried about the laughs, ‘cause I’m really a jokester, a big comedian, so I hope y’all don’t laugh too much! Y’all just gotta see. You know, comedy is just so healing and so fun. It’s something about the light-heartedness. My little hints of comedy will definitely–hopefully–ease the nerves of myself and my peers. I hope y’all enjoy the speech and get a good laugh and just… are proud of all the accomplishments and the things that you’ve done at Purchase.

What will you be talking about?

The theme of my speech is connection, and how I have used connecting as a way to get opportunities here on campus. The importance of connection, the importance of sharing space with other people. Making room for everyone’s voice, everyone’s ideas, and like they say, it takes two to tango. It takes multiple people to create and build something beautiful.

What else inspired your speech?

My culture. I’m Haitian, and I love being Caribbean. I love my background. It means everything to me. I’m a second-generation. The first in my family besides my parents and others to graduate college, so my family inspires me. My mom, my dad, my grandmother. Everyone. And my culture, just doing it for my people.

Tachynel Merveille as Taylor in “Stick Fly,” a play by Lydia R. Diamond (Photo by Matt Otto)

How long have you been at this college?

Child, I been here since 1999- nah, I’ve been here since 2021. Honestly, I got lucky because when I first came here, I was in Outback, which is honestly not terrible. I wasn’t in anything communal. I had my own shower, it was nice. But I couldn’t wait to get my own kitchen. I have a passion for food, so I couldn’t wait to whip it up, have my own kitchen and make whatever I want.

What do you love to cook?

I love to cook Caribbean food, I love Haitian food, I make Haitian food all the time. I’m a big rice and beans girl. I love chicken, goat meat and ox tail. Mac and cheese is my specialty, though. I don’t play about mac and cheese. But I love soul food, as well. I love making beef ribs. Actually, I wanna start utilizing the grills that we have on campus. They work, and I used them before. I grilled up some burgers, and I was selling plates on Labor Day, so I want to continue that. But as you can tell, I love food. I could talk about food all day.

I saw you’re also in charge of Afrodisiac. How’d that go?

Child, I was actually stressed. It was a beautiful event. Unfortunately, one of our headliners wasn’t able to perform due to technical difficulties, but we made it work. We all worked together. We had Moko Jumbies, aka stilt walkers, come and dance with the students. I’m a part of Culture Shock as well. I’m the student coordinator, so I’m gonna be regulating the space, making sure everyone’s good, the desk workers are good, making sure everyone’s having a safe and fun time at Culture Shock. This time around, my favorite food truck is coming: TNT Pineapple. I’m telling you, it’s very delicious. They make jerk chicken and rice and shrimp, but they also have these jerk chicken tacos that are amazing. You guys are gonna see me a lot at that truck this week.

I have such a respect for people who are in the food business because I also have sold food on campus. I’m hoping that I actually could follow through with what I wanted to do, which is basically build some sort of food place at The Hub, ‘cause I feel like we need more- and shout out PCEATS (Purchase College Dining), they’re always trying for more, listening to the students and trying to get more flavors, new cuisines and stuff. I’ve worked at DHall. My mac and cheese? Better than theirs.

Do your plans for after college involve food? Maybe starting your own business?

I am all over the place. I love just immersing myself in so many things. One of those ventures being I’m interested in law. I’ve been getting into law recently, and I always had a passion for it, especially being a Haitian American girl, I feel like there are so many opportunities and things I can do to help my people as well as everyone. So, I will, hopefully in the future, be pursuing law, while also chasing my dreams of acting and storytelling. I will obviously keep auditioning for stuff. Yeah, pursuing acting, pursuing food. I started to grow my little TikTok account, so you know. Just dipping my toes into all the waters. I don’t think the sky is even the limit for me. I just want to immerse myself in anything and everything, and just keep connecting, keep growing and planting seeds everywhere and seeing what comes from that.

Are you going home after graduating?

Yup. I’ll go back home, save up some money, and plan. Work. ’Cause outside all of this, I also work as a paraprofessional, so I work with special needs children in District 75. I usually work in either Staten Island or Brooklyn. My mom’s a teacher, so sometimes I work at her school or a school nearby.

Purchase. What do you love about it? What do you hate about it?

The people here, undoubtedly, are amazing. This is the first time I’ve been in a school system where everyone is chill, everyone is nice. You need to borrow a pad, you need to borrow a bobby pin, to use anything, you call your friend across from you, or even all the way across campus, and they’re there. These are the type of people that are here at Purchase. They’re not selfish at all. They’re very kind and giving.

What I don’t like is… Honestly, the food? Not that good. Ever since I got here, I had a problem with the food. I was bloated a lot from eating Hub sandwiches and stuff. Coming here, I wasn’t used to burgers, fries, hot dogs. I eat “real food.” Rice, chicken, vegetables and stuff. And of course, yes, we have the Dining Hall, shout out to Dining Hall, but the Dining Hall be flopping! Let’s be real.

Closing thoughts. What do you have to say to Purchase, the community, the faculty and the friends you made here?

Shout out to y’all! I love Purchase. I will never forget what Purchase has taught me. I thank everyone for helping me blossom into this young person that wants to make so much change in the world. I appreciate everyone for allowing me to be myself and to just make art. I appreciate everyone for letting my voice be heard, letting me lead a lot of the spaces, events and things that we have on campus. I wanna shout out my company, Company 50. I wanna shout out my professors, Dr. Krystal Perkins. Shout out the late, great Alfred Dean Irby, Maggie Surovell, Liam Joynt, Scott McCrea, Christopher McCann, Ed Malone. I wanna shout out my SAB (Student Activities Board) team, PSGA (Purchase Student Government Association). I wanna shout out all the people at DHall. Osbourne, Veronica, Lorenzo, Randy. Shout out all the students on campus, and applaud everyone for pursuing anything and everything that fills their heart and lights their delight fire. I wanna thank my family. I love my family. Thank you, guys, so much for supporting me. Thank you so much, everyone.

Commencement will be held Friday, May 15, beginning at 12:30 p.m. in the Westchester County Center (198 Central Ave., White Plains, New York).

Tachynel Merveille, the senior speaker for the class of 2026 (Photo by Xanthe Elbrick)