Senior Corey Traina is one of several visionaries who will be able to fulfill her middle school dreams of being an actress. Recently, she shared on Facebook that she has officially committed to Fordham University in the Bronx, N.Y, to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Theater Performance.
After careful consideration and a plane ride to New York, Traina chose Fordham over four other schools. She ultimately chose Fordham “since the campus was intriguing and the program seemed to be a perfect fit.”
Traina’s determination to go to a performing arts school sprouted somewhere between middle school and her freshman year.
“It’s what I am most [interested in] by far,” Traina said. “I think it's really important to pursue something you're insanely passionate about.”
Throughout high school, Traina has participated in nine productions, including “Much Ado About Nothing,” “Up: The Man in the Flying Chair,” “Les Miserables,” “Matchmaker,” “A Streetcar Named Desire,” “The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” “Good Morning Karina” and “Guys and Dolls.” One of her favorite roles she has played was Stella Kowalski in the iconic play “A Streetcar Named Desire.”
“Stella is a character with so many levels to be played,” she said. “It was fun and challenging diving that deep into a character's past, present, motives, mentality and emotions.”
For almost every school she applied to, Traina had to endure an auditioning process. She usually had to recite one or two monologues depending on the college and participate in an interview afterwards. The auditions helped both the performer and the staff see how well they collaborated together and also allowed them to get a general impression of each other.
Not only was Fordham her favorite audition, but Traina also could not think of a better place to be than “in the heart of New York City” for a theater performance major with an emphasis on acting.
“I truly do want to be far away from home in order to get a vastly different experience,” Traina said. “Independence is the number one thing I'm looking forward to since I know it's going to help me grow as a person.”
Although Traina will be able to explore her creativity in performing arts and expand her knowledge in New York, she will reminisce on the teachers and friends that she has come to know these past four years at SHS.
“I don't want to say that I'll miss my friends because I know we will all stay in touch,” she said. “But there are a few teachers that I've grown very close to and their kindness and wisdom have helped me through a lot.”
One of these teachers is her drama teacher, Sarah Thermond, who first met Traina at a summer program seven years ago. To Thermond, it is not surprising that Traina will be pursuing theater in college.
“Corey is not someone who’s content to be good at one thing; she’s always looking to challenge herself and push herself further,” Thermond said. “It is obvious how important theater is to her, and it makes perfect sense to me that she’ll be studying and working towards a career in it at the collegiate level.”
Having known her for several years, Thermond has been able to see how Traina has grown and improved.
“She’s always been super focused and really proactive, and I think that translates into how many opportunities she has found for herself now,” she said. “She is less goofy and much more grounded, but the goofiness can still come out during rehearsal, which I think is terrific.”