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This story is part of Georgetown Faces, a storytelling series that celebrates the beloved figures, unsung heroes and dedicated Hoyas who make our campus special.
By Hayden Frye
Lanah Koelle is the manager of academic records in the College of Arts & Sciences.
If Lanah Koelle’s desk in White-Gravenor is empty, chances are she’s tucked away in a piano practice room nearby, belting out a few jazz songs.
“It’s a music break in the middle of the day,” said Koelle, manager of academic records in the College of Arts & Sciences. “There’s a song in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella, ‘In My Own Little Corner,’ and that’s how it feels — I just have this little room that I can go to and sing.”
By day, Koelle manages academic records for the College of Arts & Sciences. She oversees academic record-keeping for most of the university’s undergraduates, manages the degree audit for College programs and tracks everything from under-enrolled students to open courses.
By night, Koelle moonlights as a jazz performer in the Washington, DC, area. A regular at Mr. Henry’s on Capitol Hill, she has performed in venues across the city since 2013.
Jazz, a genre that originated in New Orleans in the late 19th century, connects two of Koelle’s passions: history and music. As an undergraduate at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, she majored in ancient studies before pursuing her master’s degree in library science at the University of Maryland.
“Things from the past seem to resonate with me,” said Koelle. “I certainly love the music of the past a lot more than I like today’s music, but I also think it’s interesting to get out of our own immediate content and explore the sounds, values and preconceptions of the past. There’s a feeling of the continuity of humanity and also a humility; we’re just one speck in the spectrum.”
Koelle joined Georgetown in 2022 after working as a librarian and program manager at Harvard University’s Center for Hellenic Studies, where she managed research programs and workshops on ancient Greece. At Georgetown, she’s a “mechanic, detective and consultant” in overseeing student records, keeping them up-to-date and investigating any issues. In 2024, she received the Distinguished Service Staff Award from the College for her contributions.
In the midst of her work, she still finds time for jazz. In 2018, Koelle recorded her debut album, Straight Up Sassafras, which shares her interpretations of Cole Porter, Fats Waller and other jazz giants.
Koelle often plays a practice piano in the Davis Performing Arts Center.
Learn more about Koelle, her passion for education and music, and how she found her calling for library science in a Hollywood Video store.
How I became interested in library science: As a kid, I loved organizing my non-fiction books into categories and alphabetizing the fiction. However, it was working at Hollywood Video through high school and college that gave me the idea that I might do well in a library setting. I didn’t know what I wanted to do after college, and I was like, well, working in the library is not that dissimilar from working in a video store — it just has a little more cachet. I imagined being a reference librarian or archivist, but was excited to learn that there was more to the field and was surprised how much I enjoyed the more technical aspects of organizing information.
Something I wish people knew about my job: Many days I’m fulfilling routine requests for reports or updates to the degree audit, but on the best days my job is like being a mechanic, detective and consultant all rolled into one! I’m not an expert in any one area, but I know a little about a lot of things and that is the key to helping me make connections when troubleshooting.
As the manager of academic records for the College of Arts & Sciences, Koelle refers to her role as a “mechanic, detective and consultant.”
What I enjoy most about my role: Solving problems and helping people find the information they need. I’m excited when I can make someone’s day by making their work easier or when I sort out a data mystery. Curiosity and a willingness to dig deeper are the two things I try to bring to my role every day.
Outside of work: My main thing is definitely music. I’ve loved music for a long time — I went to a magnet high school and studied classical voice. It exposed me to a whole genre of music that I wasn’t super familiar with, and I fell in love with Mozart and Monteverdi, but it wasn’t quite what I was looking for, in terms of self-expression.
How I fell in love with jazz: When I got out of graduate school, I did a jazz voice workshop in DC. Through that experience, I met a whole circle of singers. One day someone asked, ‘When are you having a show?’ And I thought, Oh, I should have a show. I guess I can do that. From 2013 on, I started performing with some regularity and building up a repertoire of jazz. I love the genre because you can find a way to make something your own, even if it has been recorded or heard a thousand times. You can play with the tempo or the feel or the phrasing. There’s such a palette to work with. And I find that performing live is the best thing. When you have the energy of an audience, it’s thrilling.
The one song that will make you fall in love with jazz: Just one? A Louis Armstrong song. Jazz has changed and gone in all different directions, but a good place to start is where and who it began with. The spirit Armstrong embodied, his phrasing and improvisation — he’s someone I still go back to listen to for inspiration. Recently I heard “Azalea” off his collaborative album with Duke Ellington. What a storyteller. You can hear the nostalgia of recalling a first love right away.
Lanah Koelle performs at Mr. Henry’s in Washington, DC, in 2022. Photo by Addie Stan.
The best place to see jazz in DC: Every Friday, Westminster Presbyterian Church (400 I Street, SW) presents jazz with an emphasis on local musicians. The cover is only $10 and you can see small combos, big bands, instrumental jazz, vocal jazz, the whole gamut. Once a year, the church hosts a festival that’s an all-day jam. I don’t get out often, but when I do, I love coming here. I always see someone I know and there’s such a strong feeling of community and support.
And by all-day jam, I mean: One of the great things about jazz is its culture of improvisation — you don’t need to rehearse if everyone knows the song you call or if you bring music (typically a chord chart) then people will sight read it. At a jam, everyone takes turns improvising and doing their thing, usually there’s an emcee to call people up. It’s a wonderful way to get together and make music. There’s a weekly DC Jazz Jam in Mt. Pleasant on Sundays – check it out!
Koelle in the Davis Performing Arts Center.
My favorite place to go on campus: The Davis Performing Arts Center. There are two gorgeous pianos in the lobby and they are, as I’ve been assured by the chair of the Department of Performing Arts, there to be played. I have gone in the summertime when people aren’t around to play them, and it’s a beautiful space. From the piano bench, you can look out the windows to the trees and it’s lovely.
My favorite place to eat in the neighborhood: I am definitely a packed-lunch kind of person, but if I’m feeling like a high roller then I will go get a croissant and a cappuccino from Boulangerie Christophe.
Something I’ve watched, listened to or read that inspired me: I recently watched Portrait of a Lady on Fire, which is a film about many things, but one major theme is art. We take our sight for granted — it’s so easy to look without truly seeing or understanding. So, I’ve been thinking about the art of observation. We’re all so interested in consuming media and doing things and, I’m wondering what it means to just sit and look? What a skill that is to have as a painter and as a person.
