Rising Star through Theater, Speech, & So Much More

Rihanna Smith takes center stage playing the role of Jovie in the holiday play, "Elf the Musical."

Bright future ahead for 10th-grader Rihanna Smith

By AIYANNA MITCHELL, BAND MEMBER DESCENDANT

Rihanna Smith is a talented young woman who is currently attending Isle High School. For her, school is more that just reading, writing, and arithmetic. She is involved in many extracurricular activities including speech, one-act school play, track, prom committee, yearbook, and student council. She was also involved with Cross Country team and the Rosetta Stone project. Smith is definitely a multitasker and exemplifies amazing time management by juggling these extracurricular activities while excelling in academics. She is nearly continuously on the A and B honor roll. Smith is currently 16 years old and has a bright future ahead.

Smith may only be in tenth grade, but she is a leader in the school plays. She has been the lead role for the plays, “What Happened After Once Upon a Time,” and “Elf Jr. The Musical.” She has been in eight plays throughout her life.

During Smith's first year competing in Speech, she was able to make it to conferences in the poetry division. She also managed to grip onto a varsity letter in One Act, Speech, and Cross Country. While she enjoys all of her activities, Smith said her favorite is speech because she loves to interact with others and loves to watch others perform. She loves public speaking. “It’s a lifelong talent I can always have,” she said.

“My motivation is just finding what I am super passionate about and love to do," she added. "I also want to build my college credits.”

Smith’s biggest influence and role model is her aunt District II Representative Wendy Merrill. “Wendy has done so much and overcome a lot and is currently doing a lot of important things to help the community," Smith said. "It’s really cool to see that.”

Kelly Labrossa, the Isle school play director, said, “As the director of school plays and musicals for the Isle School District, I have had the privilege of working with Rihanna since her first show in 2017. Right from the beginning, I was impressed by her eagerness to learn and willingness to take direction. Throughout the years since (eight school shows and two competitive one-act plays) I have watched her grow and blossom as both an actress and a person. Combining her natural talent with the skills she has learned, she has a knack for developing and connecting with the characters she portrays, taking them into herself and making them her own. I am always confident that she can handle any part (or combination of parts) that I give her, and I am confident that she will thrive and excel in her future!”

I myself have had the opportunity to be a teammate of Rihanna when I was in high school and I would like to say she was very determined and was a hard worker. I competed with her in varsity track and basketball and I never understood how a girl could be so busy and talented while also taking top spots in academics, sports, and arts. To manage all of those together at such a young age impressed me. I saw her excel in speech and basketball during the same season and it was just amazing that she was able to do both. I knew then she was going to be a leader and have a bright future.

While Smith is only a 10th-grader, her inspiration is “Trying my hardest to get myself out there the most I can to get more experience,” she said. Smith is already building her college resume and is hoping she can study law in the future. Looking ahead, she is hopeful she will be able to attend her dream school — Brown University.

Rihanna Smith no doubt is a rising star and future leader who is able to do whatever she puts her mind to.