Carley DeRespiris

Carley DeRespiris – Ohio
Nomination & Photography by Sharon Holy Photography
Issue 60 of Inspiring Teens Magazine
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Nomination: Carley is like a breath of fresh air, so positive and full of life. You can't help but smile in her presence. Carley is an aspiring singer and during Carley's senior session we were invited into a new event space, complete with stage, to shoot for a few minutes. Carley hopped on stage and sang acappella while I captured some images of her. She has such a beautiful voice and her passion for music shined through! It was such a special moment to be a part of. Carley plans to pursue a degree in journalism and communication. I can't wait to see what the future holds for this beautiful young lady.
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Photography by Sharon Holy Photography

Tell us about your music career? When did you get started and where are you with it now?
My passion for music has always been a safe space for me, even when I was a child. I was able to sing before I could actually form words. Music, the words I would learn just by listening to it and then I was able to sing before I could form actual sentences. I was in many plays and extracurriculars regarding music. I would audition and normally get big roles, even at a young age. Around the age of 8, my grandpa was reading the newspaper and saw a byline that said, “Singing Angels, reaching out for auditions”. My grandpa thought I should audition, so I did. I made the Singing Angels and continued to train with the Littlest Angels. Around 1st grade, I upgraded to the Reserve chorus, then around 6th grade I was part of the highest level of training which was the Performing Chorus. Fifth grade is when I found my vocal coach, Allan Licht. I was balancing Singing Angels everyday from 5-9 and voice lessons once a week, while having school 5 days a week, but I loved it. I went to YellowStone and Ireland with the Singing Angels around the grades of 6-8th grade. During my freshman year, I quit the Singing Angels because my favorite director was no longer there, and I wanted to pursue my music solo. I had all the training, I have access to a recording studio, and I was still going to voice lessons 1-2 times a week. I started competing in competitions that were hosted in my area, sang at restaurants, and overall just kept on pursuing my passion. There is no greater feeling than getting up on stage and performing. Right now, I’m still recording, going to voice lessons, auditioning for competitions, and working on singing live again. Because of covid it’s been difficult to sing at restaurants again, but my voice coach and I are looking into getting started again.

What genre of music do you most like to play? Do you have a song to go to? What is it?
There is no specific genre that I would prefer to listen to. I enjoy all genres of music including rap, pop, classical, slow tempoed, and many more. It kind of just depends on the way I’m feeling and that is the type of music I will play so I can heighten those emotions and get lost in the music. My go to song changes, but anything that is by Bruno Mars or Adele I could play over and over again and not get bored.

What position do you play in lacrosse and what do you love most about it?
The position I play in lacrosse is attack, which is offense. The thing I love most about it is working with your team, to score a goal. It is not about who scores the goal, but how the team as a whole scores as a team. Whether they pass the ball, assist the goal, or just overall block the other defenders from getting in your teammates' way. The sport of lacrosse is all about teamwork and not one singular player can be the only good component, the entire team needs to be committed.

What is your favorite memory with your team?
My favorite memory with my team is how we all work together to get to one final goal. Which is to win. We always work our very hardest, as a team, to do the best we can, whether or not we win or lose.

Photography by Sharon Holy Photography

What do you love the most about working at Oscar Giovanni Salon and Spa?
The thing I love most about working at Oscar’s is the environment there. The people were so nice and welcoming, when I first started to work there. Plus, my dad is best friends with the boss so he and I had a good relationship before I started working there. Plus, working there means I get discounts on the products and the services provided, so overall a win a win in my book.

What is being a Certified Peer educator and what does it mean to you?
Being a certified peer educator means to guide the school and new students in the right direction. Making sure that they are not lost, while going through the constant changes that freshman year will provide. We help with retreats, orientation, tailgates, and other events to make them feel more welcomed and a part of our community. This program means to me that I can provide change and earn respect from my peers by guiding them and helping them in their journey. I wish I had someone to look up to freshman year because I struggled a lot with change and would've been nice to have that resource at my fingertips.

How did you find and why did you choose Sharon Holy as your photographer?
I chose Sharon Holy because I truly believe she is one of the best photographers in northeastern Ohio. She is so involved with her work, and the model team she created shows that. With the fun styled shoots, and all of her ideas incorporated in her pictures you can truly see that she has a passion for what she does. I found Sharon because many of the alumni and friends from my school used her as a photographer and some were even on the model team and told me to try it out. So, when my senior year came, that’s exactly what I did. I applied and was accepted and the experience so far has been so fun.

What was your experience like? What did you love most about it?
My first experience with Sharon was so fun, she was so nice and made me feel super confident when posing in front of the camera. I would do a pose that she told me not to do and she would tell me to stay there and hold it because she loved that I was stepping outside of the box and doing my own thing. Every experience with Sharon has always been fun, I love hearing her ideas and letting me also incorporate my own ideas in our shoots. The thing I love most about Sharon is she goes very well with the flow type of person. When it was my senior session we had a change of location due to meeting someone who had a great place to shoot, and she didn’t panic, she just went with it and we ended up getting beautiful pictures because of it. Overall, Sharon is a great photographer and person to be around and can’t wait for the next year of shoots to come.

Photography by Sharon Holy Photography

​What do you want to tell us about Senior Year?
Senior year is a fresh start for your grade. My personal experience so far is that none of us want to waste another moment over petty grudges, we are all going to be moving on next year. There is no point to hold a grudge, let it go, move on, and live your life.

Tell us about your family and where you fit in?
Let me start off and say that I’m extremely blessed to have the family that has been given to me. My mom, dad, brother, and sister are my rocks. I would not be the person I am today without them. I am very different from my two older siblings, which is not a bad thing. Being different is good, which took me a while to accept. My older sister is very successful and is going into a career with medicine and my brother is studying to be a mechanical engineer. I, on the other hand, am a very artistic person. I am not that good at math and I would prefer to do anything other than school. I have always wanted to be as smart as them, but I have realized that I have other talents that make me unique, and they have talents that make them unique as well, and together we are all one big happy family. We all have our talents that we share with each other and help each other when we need it most. My family is great and I love them all unconditionally.

What is your favorite tradition with your family?
My favorite tradition with my family is our annual Christmas party. We always have my dad’s side of the family come over and we celebrate Christmas as a family. My family lives all over so when we all can come together and see each other, in my eyes it’s a very memorable time for me. I will never take it for granted because we only see each other every so often and we need to make the most of our time together. I always think that you should spend your moments with people like it’s your last because you never know if you will see them again.

How would your friends describe you?
I asked my friends how they would describe me as a person and they said that I’m one of the most compassionate people they have ever met. They believe that I would do anything for them and treat them like they are family. One of my closest friends said, “I would put people before myself any day, no matter the circumstance”. They also said that I treat people the way that I would want to be treated. “Carley always knows how to have a good time, and is one of the most energetic people I’ve ever met”. “She is full of life, loyal, kind, and such a great person”. My friends also said that even in tough times she knows how to be there for you and put a smile on your face. I’m extremely grateful to have some amazing friends, and I thank God everyday for being blessed.

What is something you will miss the most with your friends after you graduate?
The things I will miss the most with my friends are all the spontaneous and fun adventures that we go on. Normally the activities we do are not planned, but rather spur of the moment, and that rush of adrenaline I will miss the most because it won’t be the same after we graduate.

Look for Carley in issue 60 of Inspiring Teens Magazine!

click here for more information on issue 60

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