QV Life

On the big screen as the Phillies take on the Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park (photo courtesy of Lori Currier).

Olivia Sings!

Already well-known to Philly sports fans for her performance of the national anthem, this Queen Village teen is now taking the spotlight at stadiums across the country.

By Martha Morowitz

Lifelong Queen Village neighbor Olivia Currier may not be known to those of us who are not avid Philly sports fans. But if you have even a casual interest in the Eagles, 76ers, Flyers, or Phillies (to name a few), you have no doubt seen the 16-year-old singing the national anthem at many major league games.

Olivia has loved performing from a very young age and began performing the national anthem at the age of nine for the women’s basketball team at Villanova, where her father was assistant athletic director. She astutely sent videos of her appearances to other teams and, seven years later, was singing the anthem at professional sporting events all across the nation. Her first nationally televised anthem was this past February for the Frozen Four 2021 hockey event, which was broadcast live on ESPN.

Considering the pressure of performing in front of huge crowds in some of

Olivia with the legendary Flyers’ anthem-singer Lauren Hart at the Wells Fargo Center before the team takes the ice (photo courtesy of Lori Currier).

the best-known stadiums in the country, you may ask, “How does someone so young calm jitters and manage stage fright?” Olivia says she uses a “mental checklist that involves equal parts prayer and positive affirmations to get myself in the right mental headspace for performing.” She explains that she becomes so engrossed in giving her best that she’s not aware of standing in front of throngs of sports fans until the anthem ends and the applause follows. Each opportunity to sing the anthem, she explains, is an opportunity to honor her father—an Air Force veteran—as well as all U.S. military servicemen and women.

Although she loves these opportunities to perform, Olivia has no ambition to sing professionally. Life in the spotlight, she says, is not all that it is cracked up to be. Her plans don’t revolve around the mic but, instead, the pen as she plans to go to college to major in journalism (with a minor in theater, of course!). Olivia plans to combine her experience in the public arena with journalism to “tell stories that inform, inspire, and impact others.” She hopes to open a dialogue to address the nation’s serious issues, including distrust of the media. Her strong moral backbone compels her desire for “ethical deliverance of news and information.”

No doubt, with grace and poise, this young lady will soon be a rising star in her chosen field. So, neighbors, keep an eye out for Queen Village’s own— Olivia Currier! ■

OL D SWED ES ’

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