Biography of Samantha Leigh Hardee

Samantha Hardee is the daughter of Tom Hardee and Kellie Burich. She is a sixteen year old junior at Floyd E. Kellam High School in Virginia Beach.

At Kellam, “Sam” has performed in productions with the drama and choral departments. She was a dancer in Beauty and The Beast and Tiger Lily in last year’s production of Peter Pan. Currently Sam is rehearsing the role of Liesl for The Sound of Music. Her sophomore year, she was a member of the Women’s Select Vocal Ensemble. This year, she is a member of Kellam Madrigals – a select mixed vocal Ensemble. Sam is a member of the Drama Club and was a Workshop Leader in ninth and tenth grade for the Virginia Beach Middle School Drama Conference. She led a workshop in “How to Audition for Musical Theatre”.

In eighth grade at Princess Anne Middle School, Sam received the President’s Education Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement. In ninth grade, she received the Kellam Academic Letter Award. She is an Honor Roll student with a 3.5 GPA. Sam is a three time District Chorus Participant. Currently she is enrolled in an Honors Course – Virginia’s Teacher’s for tomorrow – that will allow her to participate in an actual internship at an elementary school this spring.

Samantha recently auditioned and signed on with Studio Center (a National Broadcast Advertising Agency) to do professional voice-over work. She has been an “extra” in a movie and has done video work for the Norfolk Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. She has performed locally and on the road in six productions with The Hurrah Players. Among her favorite shows are Jack and the Beanstalk (Bessie), The Taffetas (Studio Dancer), and Hurrah for Hollywood (Snow White).

At her church (VBUMC), Sam has volunteered in the area of community outreach with Vacation Bible School and The Fall Festival. She has performed with the dance, drama, and music ministries. She has entertained at the Norfolk Diabetes Fundraiser and at two Youth Missions Fundraisers.

For the last seven years, Sam has taken classes in tap, jazz, and ballet. She studies at Denise Wall’s Dance Energy.

Sam has competed in four pageants. In February 2007, she was 1^st Runner up and Most Photogenic in the Miss Teen Virginia Beach Pageant. In November 2008, among fifteen other contestants, she was 1^st Runner up and tied for Most Photogenic in the Miss Teen Hampton Roads Pageant. Sam was crowned Miss Teen Norfolk in January 2008. She was crowned Miss Kellam (High School) in February 2008.

Sam hopes to use her title as Miss Teen Norfolk to Raise Awareness for Organ Donation. She plans to attend a volunteer training session through Life Net this Spring. Highly impacted by a visit to her High School by the Save 7 Lives Organization, she hopes to work with the group in Hampton Roads in the area of community education.

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