A Rosie future
Stuyvesant student earns $100G scholarship
ONE STUYVESANT High School teen’s passion for the Great White Way is helping her make her way to college.
Zi Ying Cao is spending the summer prepping for her senior year while honing her singing and acting chops with Rosie’s Theater Kids.
The 17-year-old is headed to Martha’s Vineyard this week as students in the program founded by actress Rosie O’Donnell test out their skills with a local performance.
Her hard work both in the classroom and on stage is paying off. The group recently recognized her as its Scholastic and Artistic Merit Scholar — an honor that comes with a $100,000 college scholarship.
“I was amazed,” she told the Daily News. “My parents would have such a hardship putting me through college.”
The program, which serves about 1,800 kids a year, was started 12 years ago by O’Donnell and Lori Klinger, an acclaimed dancer and teacher, to bring arts, culture and Broadway to city kids who would not otherwise get a chance to channel their inner artist.
In addition, students in the program get help with homework and preparing for standardized tests.
“At RTKids our motto is ‘rehearsing for life.’ The lessons of the theater are basic: show up, show up on time, give at least 100% and do it all with passion,” said Klinger, the artistic director. “We’ve been so proud to watch Zi Ying flourish as she’s embraced these ideals.”
Cao, whose parents brought her to the U.S. from China at the age of 2, has not yet decided which colleges she will apply to this fall.
She said Rosie’s Theater Kids has allowed her to explore an interest in the performing arts while serving as a way to relieve stress from the rigorous academic demands of school.
“I gained confidence and I have an appreciation for the arts I don’t think I will ever forget,” said Cao who started in the program as a fifth-grader.
Over the years, Cao has taken workshops with actor Zachary Quinto and choreographer Caitlin Trainor, seen numerous plays and musicals and been in dozens of performances.
Cao said her parents are supportive of her participation in the program — as long as she keeps up her grades. Her younger sister, Emily, is also a member of Rosie's Theater Kids.
Cao’s mother, Ju Hui Mei, works in the fashion industry while her dad, Zhi Cong Cao, is a chef at a Chinese restaurant.
“They believe academics is the path to success,” she said. “I would rather do this than spend an hour on YouTube or Facebook.”
I gained confidence and I have an appreciation for the arts I don’t think I will ever forget. Zi Ying Cao