“I get this incredible rush when I am performing onstage,” says Bernadette Kathryn, a 7th grade student at Royal Oak Middle School. Bernadette has been wowing friends and neighbors with her powerful vocals for quite a while. “My parents used to sing to me when I was baby to soothe and comfort me. Mama says I could sing before I could talk, and my dad put me onstage when I was five years old. I... have been performing ever since.” When not in school she spends most of her time practicing the piano, studying music theory, taking voice and guitar lessons, performing at the local community theater, singing in the church choir, watching a good zombie film, or just reading a book. “My parents are so supportive,” she says. “Of course I have to keep my grades up.” “I have classical voice training, but I love to sing pop and show tunes," says Bernadette. "I also like rhythm and blues, rock n roll, jazz and some country, so you might say, I just love to sing.”