Senior Eyes Career as Singing Veterinarian

When Sarah Smith sang the Star Spangled Banner at the Greater Brandon Area Community Picnic, she was steady and sure and a welcome start to the once-a-year, pot-luck luncheon hosted by and for people with deep ties to the community.

An upcoming high school graduate, Smith, 17, is a frequent performer on the community theater stage, with her most recent show, “Beauty and the Beast,” set to hit the stage next month as a production of the Florida Academy of Performing Arts (FAOPA), in residence at Music Showcase in Brandon.

In an interview with Brandon Patch, Smith talked about her goals for the future, her love of music and her unique position as the first student to graduate from Foundation Christian Academy who has been there for every grade since pre-kindergarten for three-year-olds.

Smith’s mother, Sherri, has been a principal at the school for 16 years. Her father, Jonathan, has been principal for the high school grades, since those grades were added four years ago.

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BRANDON PATCH: You’re a student at Foundation Christian Academy and you love to sing.

• SMITH: I’ve been at the school all my life, from preschool, to middle school to high school, and I’ve been singing ever since I was little, but I didn’t do my first show, I didn’t really get into it, until I was in the seventh grade.

BRANDON PATCH: Your first show was with Stagedoor Performing Arts.

• SMITH: I was Meg Giry, in “The Phantom of the Opera,” in [a show that featured tunes from the] “Best of Broadway." I had done dance up to that point but when I started doing theater, I really liked it and I’ve done shows with community theater groups ever since, including with Music Showcase and the Village Players.

BRANDON PATCH: What do you love about singing?

• SMITH: It’s always been something I loved. When I was little it was something I could do with my dad. He’d play the piano and we’d sing together. As I grew up I loved it more. It was something I did that made me happy.

BRANDON PATCH: You graduate from high school next month. What’s next?

• SMITH: I’m going to Florida College, in Temple Terrace, to study veterinarian science.

BRANDON PATCH: You’ve said you want to be a singing veterinarian.

• SMITH: That is the dream.

BRANDON PATCH: Why is that?

• SMITH: I’ve always wanted to be a veterinarian. I always wanted to work with animals. I also love to sing. I always think of Dr. Doolittle, who talks to the animals. I like the idea of going in there and being a veterinarian who sings to the animals. I think it’s unique.

BRANDON PATCH: Indeed it is. Do you have pets now? And do you sing to them?

• SMITH: I do. I do sing to my animals. I have two dogs and three cats and I run the bunny farm for the animal science club at my school. I founded the club and it has chickens and rabbits.

BRANDON PATCH: What do you sing to the animals?

• SMITH: Anything. I always have some kind of song in my head. I sing whatever I have caught in my head. The animals will listen, or they’ll eat. They’ll listen, more so with the chickens. They respond to it. They kind of look at me.

 BRANDON PATCH: And your pets at home?

• SMITH: I think it’s soothing for animals to hear your voice, so the constant sound is nice for them. It’s like a universal language.

BRANDON PATCH: How did you get involved with community theater?

• SMITH: I always went and saw community theater shows with my mom. I saw “Oliver,” a Stagedoor show, and I looked on the back of the program and saw auditions were coming up. I saw other kids my age in the show and I thought it would be something fun to do. It was and I absolutely love it.

BRANDON PATCH: How did you end up at the Greater Brandon Area Community Picnic, hosted by the Greater Brandon Oldtimers Association at the First Baptist Church of Brandon, on April 28?

• SMITH: Mrs. [Karen] Rodriguez asked me to do it, if I would sing for the Fallen Soldiers program they had, and I said I was interested. It was a huge honor.