Senior, Veda Zomerlei has acquired a love and passion for music. Her love for music started at a

young age due to her early exposure from her family and the environment around her. “My family loves

music (especially my mom) so she has definitely been a big influence in my love for music. My church in

Grand Rapids had a Christmas Program every year which was basically a Bible-based musical and that’s

where my love for performing started. My first appearance onstage was in one of those musicals and I

was probably 5 years old,” said Zomerlei.

Her next role is “Fiona” in the school's upcoming production of Shrek The Musical, allowing her to

expose herself to something new, something different than what she has done before, while also closing

the chapter on her high school theater career. “ I’m excited to get out of my comfort zone with this

character. It’s a much different role than anything I’ve taken on before. I’m also excited to end my high

school career with such a fun and lighthearted show and to work with people I might not know as well. It’s

going to be an amazing show and I’m so excited to share it with my best friends,” said Zomerlei.

Shrek will be Zomerlei’s sixth show, her first show being Once Upon A Mattress in 7th grade. Yet,

her favorite show has been The Lightning Thief, where she was “Annabeth Chase”. This show was

produced by The Flores Theatre Company, a student run theatre business, in August of 2024.

For a high school student, putting themselves out there is a hard thing to do. Zomerlei has used

these uncomfortable situations to learn about interacting and working with others. “You are never going

to agree with every single person you work with, but performing is such a vulnerable position for

someone to put themselves in so it’s important to see everyone as an equally valuable part of a team. In

a cast (and crew), everyone is put there for a reason, so it’s important to appreciate the unique things

that everyone has to offer. This means I’ve also learned it’s important to stay humble and grateful to be a

part of every show I’ve been in,” said Zomerlei.

Zomerlei has decided to take her love for music and turn that into a career. After high school, she

has plans to attend an in-state college to pursue Secondary Music Education. She hopes to combine her

love for music with a career that can help the next generation.