Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1536125
June-July 2025 | maconmagazine.com 35 because the kids come in, and they're kind of timid. They come in feeling very unsure of themselves, sort of like a fish out of water. To see them at the end of camp on the stage, [they're] owning it, thriving, coming off the stage and feeling like they're on this unstoppable high. I love that every year I cry. It's the growth. It's about being a part of their journey, and then when you see them have that success, you can't help but to get all emotional… "I saw you a few weeks ago and you were so unsure of yourself. You didn't talk, you were too scared to say anything, and now you're out here owning the stage." What measures are put in place at ORCA to ensure inclusivity? When we start to discuss, on day one, rules and expectations, our biggest word is respect. It's a great play on words for us, because obviously Otis wrote "Respect." We start everything with that principle as our base foundation, because if you can't do that, you can't be here. We don't tolerate bullying. You're going to come in here with openness, and with love and understanding for the other people who are here, or you won't come. That is our rule. We don't tolerate hate or disrespect here at all. What else would you want our readers to know? This is so much more than music. I don't want people to get clouded by the arts part of it, right? Because arts are the tool, but the goal is so much bigger than music. We welcome everyone. We want all kids. If they are feeling lost, or unheard, or broken, or whatever it is, come here. Let us see you. Let us love you. Let us support you. Let us encourage you because everyone who works here, we all have that same goal. We just want to upli every kid that we can. – that's the tool that we use. But really, it's not about the music, you know? It's about creating well-rounded kids who just feel good about themselves and who feel like they can go out into the world and be a strong contributing member of their community, whatever that is. How did your path bring you to the Otis Redding Foundation? A lot of us here are Mount de Sales Academy graduates. Many years ago, Justin, a classmate, reached out. I had done a show with Macon Pops. He came up a er and he said, "My mom wants you to work Otis Music Camp." I don't know what it is, but it's a music camp for kids, which I think is super cool. I [taught at] my first Otis Music Camp that summer. I think it was the second day, I told Karla, "Girl, I'm going to be like roaches, because you're not going to be able to get rid of me. Whatever y'all are doing, I'm always going to show up, because this is incredible." I knew by day two that it was just something super special that I wanted to be a part of. I haven't looked back since. What does being a hero mean to you? You can be a hero in any facet of your life, because it's about your integrity. It's about your passion. It's about your work ethic. It's about your ability to see a need around you and say, "I'm going to step in and I'm going to try to help as best I can." I see a need with these kids. You have to show up, you have to come every day, and you have to work your hardest. You have to be passionate about it even when you want to pull your hair out. You just have to keep doing it and remembering what the end goal is. We're all heroes if we really try. Who has been a hero to you in your career? The heroes of my life have 100% always been my parents. I started singing when I was three years old, and by the time I was probably about 12, I was doing some huge things in the music industry. I've been fortunate enough to have a really good career. It allowed me to do a lot of things and have a lot of success. My parents were always pushing me and always reminding me that you have this gi and you have to use your gi . You have to tap in and remember that this thing is important. They were always my biggest fans. My father passed away several years ago. I know that he's so proud, still, because what I'm doing is who he raised me to be. How do you use your performing gifts to serve the community? I remember being 13 years old, being in this big music business that I didn't know anything about. My parents were learning as they went. I was the one getting out there and singing it, but I remember feeling many times like I loved singing, but I felt like I was drowning in all of the rest of it… All of these people kind of trying to tell me who I was, because I was a kid. It's very easy to assume that kids don't know much or that they don't have anything to say, and it's just so far from the truth. We deal with kids every day, and while they might not have all of the answers on how to get from point A to point B, they very clearly have no trouble identifying what they like, what they don't like, what they want to wear, what type of music they want to sing. For me, it's always been about trying to make sure that I can take that drowning feeling away from the kids that we serve, because I really do hear them, and I really do understand them. I was them. I think that's how I still use my gi . I do voice lessons, performance coaching, and songwriting lessons, and that's an easy thing. It's really the connecting part that matters more to me, just for them to know that I hear you, I see you, I care about what you want to look like. I care about what you want to sing. I care about whether you hate the guitar part on your song, and you want it to be different. I legitimately care about all of those things. I want them to always feel like they can come to me and tell me the good and the bad. What has been the most rewarding aspect of your role at work so far? Oh man, getting to see the end result, "You're going to come in here with openness, and with love and understanding for the other people who are here, or you won't come. That is our rule. We don't tolerate hate or disrespect here at all."