Junior Sofia Rodriguez Strives for an Acting Career

Sofia Rodriguez is a sweet young woman with exceptional talent as both a vocalist and actress. The junior loves to perform with the Huntington High School drama club and chamber choir and she has a big year planned.

The teenager enjoys working with drama club advisor Michael Schwendemann and chamber choir advisor Victoria Garbarino. She’s taking a variety of core classes as well as classes in creative crafts and forensics, which she believes she’ll find interesting.

“I’m looking forward to tons of different things this year,” Ms. Rodriguez said. “I cannot wait to for the fall play and the spring musical to start up again. Being a huge theatre kid, these are easily my favorite parts of the entire year. I’m also very much looking forward to all the different things the chamber choir will be doing this year. We have the opportunity to perform at all sorts of cool events, so I’m really excited about doing that again. These programs are led by my favorite teachers in the entire school, Mr. Schwendemann and Ms. Garbarino, so of course I am very much looking forward to working with them again as well as all of my friends who are also members of these clubs and are some of the most talented, hardworking people I’ve ever met. I’m immensely grateful to work with all of them and can’t wait to get started.”

The junior is a veteran of many dramatic and musical productions. She has shined in all of them.

“My experience at the high school has been really wonderful so far,” Ms. Rodriguez said. “At this school, I have met so many amazing people who have made an incredible impact on my life in all sorts of ways, as well as getting to be a part of so many beautiful experiences, such as my times with drama club as well as the chamber choir. While it’s not uncommon for the days to get difficult given things like school work and exams, it is always worth being here because of the family I’ve made and the amazing things that this school and it’s people have given us the privilege of being a part of.”

The teenager hopes to turn her favorite activities into a lifetime of work and no one should bet against her succeeding. She will continue to prepare at Huntington alongside Mr. Schwendemann and her fellow cast members.

“As for a career, I’ve always known I want to be an actress,” Ms. Rodriguez said. “That’s why I feel so strongly about my involvement in the drama club. Acting has always been my passion and the dream, so I’m going to make every effort I can to pursue it professionally.”

Halfway through high school, Ms. Rodriguez is giving some thought to life beyond Huntington and the future. She is quietly doing her homework so she has the information she needs to make good decisions. But she is a long way from knowing her precise path forward.

“If I’m being honest, college is a pretty scary thought to me and I really have no clue where I’d want to go,” Ms. Rodriguez admits. “For kids in the performing arts, there is always lots of talk surrounding top notch schools such as The Juilliard School and NYU Tisch School of the Arts, so as I get closer to college, I’ll definitely do more research into them as well as other schools, but as of now I’m pretty much still at square one regarding where I want to go. Wherever it is, there’s no doubt I will be majoring in acting or musical theatre.”