NORTH AMERICAN ROSE OF TRALEE
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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER THE DESERT SHAMROCK
Maigan Kennedy North Carolina Rose
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ey, y’all! I’m 27 and I grew up in Durham, NC, just outside the capital city of Raleigh. I’ve been acting professionally for about four years, and have won awards for both solo and ensemble performances. I graduated in May with a BA in Theatre Performance and served as an officer for Alpha Psi Omega, the national theatre honors fraternity. I also take great pleasure in working backstage, most recently as general manager for a local, professional, nonprofit theatre. Another passion is music composition. I compose for theatre and movement pieces, and my composition style blends cello, piano, and voice to provide melodic (and sometimes eerie) underscoring for productions. My compositions have been featured statewide by professional and college theatre troupes. I’m a classically trained singer and cellist, and I play piano, guitar, bass, and tin whistle... I’m also trying to learn the bodhrán. Wish me luck!
I’m fortunate to be involved with two community arts organizations: Arts in Action, a group that emphasizes healthy lifestyle choices; and Theatre4Change, a group focused on teaching conflict resolution through improvisation. I also volunteer with the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, where I coach English as a Second Language classes, outfit apartments for new arrivals, and mentor families on American culture. I can trace my family’s Irish heritage to before 1739, the year my ancestor John Kennedy immigrated from Carrickfergus to the United States. Though my link to Ireland is more than two centuries old, it just goes to show that Irish roots run deep, and I’m honored to represent my family and the North Carolina Irish in this prestigious festival!
Ohio Rose
Kathleen Rose O’Donnell 2
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4 1. With parents at Ohio Rose Selection 2. Photo shoot with dance and cirque group, Quixotic 3. Performs hoop dance at Irish Heritage Center of Cincinnati. Photo by Robert Flischel 4. Daisy after high school grad ceremony, 2012
WWW.DESERTSHAMROCK.COM
am 22 years old and grew up in the city of Cincinnati with my two loving parents, two older brothers, and our ditzy dog, Daisy. My Irish roots come mainly from Co. Donegal and Connaught on my father’s side. Although I have been living in Ohio’s most southwestern city my whole life, since I can remember my family has loved to explore the world. In the past year alone I have ventured to Colorado, Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, and Michigan, to name a few places. In addition to traveling, I have a strong passion for dance and education. For seven years I pursued a professional ballet career, but a persistent and painful ankle injury forced me to re-evaluate my career goals. That is when I discovered two new core passions of mine. The first one, (hula) hoop dancing, satisfies my desire to continue dancing without the physically demanding commitment of ballet. The second one is teaching. I have always enjoyed helping others and making a positive impact in peoples’ lives, though
it only dawned on me after quitting ballet that I should consider education as a career. I am now pursuing a degree in middle school math and science education at the University of Cincinnati and will graduate next summer. I hope to incorporate hoop dance and movement into my future teaching curriculum. I also enjoy attending music festivals with my friends and family, supporting local artists, reading, modeling, painting, learning, and canoeing. I also help with the family business, Stanley’s Pub. By day, I work upstairs in the bookkeeping offices with my dad, and by early night I am downstairs tending the bar for our patrons.