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Schools

Whiz Kid: Singer Marina Wardell

Every week Patch profiles a really cool kid. Send your nominations to alanskontra@hotmail.com

Whiz Kids is a weekly feature in which Patch profiles an outstanding youngster or youth group. This week's Whiz Kid is Marina Wardell, who is awesome because she's learning how to express herself through song.

Whiz Kid: Marina Wardell

Age: 14

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School: Notre Dame School, incoming 9th grader

“I've been singing my whole life,” 14 year old Marina Wardell says about her favorite activity. She's since learned how to play musical instruments and write her own songs.

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“I've started learning the piano,” she says. “My mom thought that would benefit me for writing songs.” She also plays the guitar.

Marina was recently selected as artist of the month at , where she was invited to perform her original material every Saturday during the month of June.

She describes her songs as eclectic. “I play indie, I guess, and rock pretty much,” she says. “Apparently I (also) have a country twang.”

Marina says she started listening to country music with her mother, and took her interest on a trip to Nashville. “For pretty much ten days I was surrounded by music,” she says. “It was a lot of fun.”

She's also adapted her singing talent to the stage, performing with the Hoboken Children's Theater, most recently in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, where she humorously played a parolee serving as a “comfort counselor” to the defeated spellers.

“It's an adrenaline rush,” she says about being onstage.

Marina just graduated from the Elysian Charter School, and she'll attend the Notre Dame School next fall in New York City. “I love New York, I'm excited about it,” she says.

Her favorite school subjects are English and science. She's paired the two into a hobby of writing science fiction stories. She also likes painting and drawing.

Marina says she doesn't know yet what she wants to do when she gets older, but she definitely wants to continue with her music.

 "I just like singing,” she says. “I love the excitement and the energy."

Do you know a Whiz Kid, or even a whole group of them? Send any and all nominations to alanskontra@hotmail.com, and check back every Wednesday afternoon to read about some outstanding youngsters in your community.

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