Latest news with #HooverHighSchool
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'It's just so crazy.' Hoover High grad Karissa Ella thrilled to perform at Country Fest
Karissa Ella recalls being in awe of Dierks Bentley at The Country Fest in Stark County as a teenager. "I remember standing there watching him sing and having such a good time with my friends," the 2014 Hoover High School graduate said. "I love country music, and I was like, 'Man, it would be so cool to be up on that stage. I want to do that.' And I think ... right then and there, I planted the seed of wanting to play Country Fest, but I also think I planted a seed of wanting to be a singer and wanted to be like him." Roughly a decade later, the country music artist will live out that dream June 13 at Country Fest at Clay's Resort Jellystone Park in Lawrence Township. Ella will kick off the festival's second full day at 4 p.m. "It's crazy that I am getting to play it for the first time," she said in a recent phone interview. "And it's just proof to me in manifestation and in belief in yourself ... (and) it's all just a really big full circle moment. "They've really welcomed me with open arms and have shown me their support," Ella said. "And I'm just so grateful for it, and I just cannot wait to get up on that Country Fest stage. I'm still in disbelief, I'm still in awe that I get to play it, and I just hope I can do our hometown proud.' Aaron Green, co-founder of Country Fest, said he's considered booking Ella for a few years. "We wanted to give her a shot," he said. "She's an awesome person. If we can do anything to help bolster her career, that's what we're here for, and that's what we want to do. "I know she's always wanted to play it. We finally did it, and I think it's going to be great for us, and I think it's going to be great for her." 'Magic sauce' of Country Fest 'Godfather of Country Fest.' Dierks Bentley returns to annual event in Stark County The Stark County native is now coming full circle at Country Fest, where Bentley is returning as a headliner the same day Ella performs. Her musical journey began when she moved to Nashville following high school to attend Belmont University. Chasing stardom wasn't her motivation for going to "Music City," however. College was the priority. Along the way, she became a singer-songwriter who couldn't resist the pull of the stage. It continued the path she set out on in Stark County, where she performed in musicals and choral groups at Hoover High. She also danced competitively. Back then, she was known as Karissa Haasz. "I always knew I had a love for music, and I would use music as a crutch if I was having a bad day, or if I was happy, music was always there for me," she said. "And I just thought, 'Wow, what a powerful and healing thing music is. We're so lucky to have it, and it would be really cool to write my own or to be that for someone else.'" Performing music live can be traced to Harmon's Pub in Canton, a popular hangout and eatery on Tuscarawas Street W. "It's really special to me because they are really the first people who allowed me to get my feet wet in music and perform, and we just did acoustic stuff," Ella said. "But I'm so grateful for them because they kept letting me come back, and it was really for me to keep getting experience, and it worked. "That place has become a very special place for me because I found my love of music and of being an artist through there." Musical interests evolved until she was playing Nashville gigs and performing at The Dusty Armadillo in Rootstown. "The Dusty Armadillo is a rite of passage," she said. Mentors also have helped guide Ella on her ascent. That started with lessons from Alison Nutt in North Canton, her first vocal instructor. Nutt also introduced her to Belmont University, a private Christian school where she graduated in 2018 with a degree in music business. "She is just an incredible person," Ella said. "She's so loving and supportive, and at a time in my life when I was in middle school and high school, she was just so formative of me and so supportive of me and really pushed me into musical theater and auditioning. "I think if it wasn't for her, I would have never had the courage to try out for the musicals or try out for the select choirs or anything like that, and all of those experiences helped me grow as an artist but also as a person. "She has been a huge influence in my personal life but also in my musical life because she taught me to sing in every which way," Ella added. "And it first introduced me to music, and what a great person to introduce me to music. She was so encouraging and heartfelt. We still keep up to this day. She's just one of the best." Nutt fondly recalled those singing lessons. "She definitely had talent and a lot of natural ability, and a work ethic like you would not believe," she said. "But she was always striving. Even as a sixth grader, she wanted to know how to do this better or how to do that better." Nutt said Ella is a spectacular singer in any genre or setting, capable of belting out a Broadway show tune on note. "If she walked into a listening room (in Nashville) and sang something like ('Somewhere Over the Rainbow'), she would blow the doors off of there," Nutt said. "If you listen to any of her recordings, she just has a lot of power behind that little body of hers." Ella also credits the boundless support of her parents and family in both music and life. "They are my biggest support system," she said. "The No. 1 thing in my life is my family. "My mom (Lori Haasz) first started taking guitar lessons, and how I first started writing was that she would start writing songs on the guitar, and she would have me sing them, so that's how I got into picking up guitar and writing songs," the daughter recalled. "And I would write songs with my mom ... and we still write to this day, and it's the best because I can really, truly be myself around here, and she's a great writer, too." Ella said Stark County will always be her favorite place. "And honestly, now that I've been to a couple of different places, I always compare where I was raised to those places, and it still wins," she said of North Canton and the Canton area overall, her voice perking up. "Maybe I'm biased, but I feel when I come home, it's just a warm hug. It's the best feeling ever. "... It has made me who I am, and I think because when I move away, I can take a step back and look out and understand what an incredible place it is because I don't take it for granted anymore," Ella said. That affection spilled over into her most recent song, "Hall of Fame," a tribute to where she grew up. Ella said she intended the song to be relatable and accessible to all country music fans, while also paying homage to her roots. She even incorporates the highway exit that takes travelers from Interstate 77 to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Another mention is Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. in Akron, where some family members worked. "It's a story about my family and how they made this place so special for me," said Ella, who co-wrote the song with Cassidy Best and Sam Blasko, both Nashville-based artists. And "it started off with the people who kind of made this town what it is today, and how it's changed so much, but in reality, it really hasn't changed that much because the people here are still some of the best people I've met. They're so kind and gracious and selfless." Working-class themed lyrics sprinkle in references to sports and industry. "This little calloused town. Grew up blue collar proud. Shirt off your back, salt of the earth. Ain't afraid of a little work. Between the football games. Underneath the oil stains. A hard town to break, I know a place that should be in the hall of fame. "Most people drive on through. Oh, if only they all knew. Right off exit 107A. They're stronger than the steel they made." "I'm so excited about this release because it's one of my favorite songs," Ella said. "I love my hometown, and I just want to brag about it all the time. I love Ohio, I love this great state, and I think the best people come from it. Of course, I'm biased, but I love writing about it and having a song for the people who live there to know how special they are, and to be reminded of it." The song will also be on her new EP, "Growing Wings," scheduled for release July 11. Seven tracks will be featured, including "Last Call Cowboy," "Heartbreaker" and "Mamas Do." She also has gigs and concerts scheduled throughout the summer, including a show in Massillon at 8 p.m. July 11 as part of the summer concert series at the Massillon Knights Foundation property, 988 Cherry Road NW. Other performances are in Nashville, Youngstown and at Country Concert 25 in Fort Loramie, a multi-day event featuring Brad Paisley, Brantley Gilbert, Jon Pardi and Blake Shelton. "I'm not chasing this dream anymore," Ella said. "I'm actually living the dream. My dream is to write and record and put out music and tour, and that's exactly what I'm doing." Achieving any level of success in the music business is tough, Ella admitted. "This business, you're not in it for the money, you're in it for the passion, and it comes with a lot of hard work, and you really have to put your blinders on as an artist because we're all on different paths and we're all on different journeys," she said. Asked about her long-term career goals, Ella humbly said she simply wants to create music, perform and impact people with her music. "I don't know where I'll end up," she said. "I hope one day I end up singing at the Grand Ole Opry. I hope one day I'll be on the Blossom Music Center stage and get to cross that one off. ... I hope in a few years that I'm on a tour and I'm touring all across America. I would love if my music would take me overseas as well. "I just want to meet new fans," Ella said. "I want to make music that resonates with people, that helps people heal, whether that's cry, laugh or drink to or make memories to. That's what I want to do. I want to be part of that and help make those experiences and help make those memories for everyone." Reach Ed at 330-580-8315 and ebalint@ Follow on TikTok @edward balint. What: The Country Fest Where: Clay's Resort Jellystone Park, 12951 Patterson Road in Lawrence Township. What: Country musical festival, featuring headliners Warren Zeiders, Bailey Zimmerman, Dierks Bentley and Hardy, as well as Stark County native Karissa Ella. When: June 11-14. Ella, a 2014 Hoover High School grad, performs at 4 p.m. June 13. Tickets: Single day admission costs $84.99 Wednesday, and $129.99 daily Thursday through Saturday. Two-day commuter tickets cost $217.88; three-day commuter, $238.87; and four-day, $259.87. Commuter passes include admission to Clay's Resort Adventure Waterpark. To purchase tickets and for information about camping, go to More details: This article originally appeared on The Repository: Country Fest 2025 a showcase for Hoover grad Karissa Ella
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
'We didn't expect it to be life changing': Hoover, Bergman say banning phones was just that
DES MOINES, Iowa — Looking back on their year as pioneers, two very different schools sound remarkably similar. 'We anticipated a lot of pushback and we got hardly any,' says Sydney Gerritsen, director of student affairs at Bergman Academy, central Iowa's only non-church-affiliated private school. 'It didn't take long for most of our kids to go 'got it—keep the phone away during the 45 minutes of class,'' says Qynne Kelly, principal at Des Moines' Hoover High School, one of the metro's most diverse public high schools. 'I'd say now we're taking maybe–at most—ten cell phones a week.' Looking for a way to solve the nationwide problem of cell phones in schools, Hoover banned phones, requiring all students to keep them in their backpacks during class. Kelly says the small-but-difficult rule change affected everything. 'You could start with a 14% increase in As and Bs,' she says. 'We'll be over 55% As and Bs after this semester—maybe even higher. Failures cut in half.' In addition to grades, student behavior at Hoover improved as well. 'Out-of-school suspension is down 60%. That's 6-0,' she adds. VR Headset offers new way for Des Moines lifeguards to train Bergman, with its younger student body running grades K-8, took the ban up a level: all students were required to check them in at the front office at the beginning of the day. As they left in the afternoon, the phones were returned. The results were much the same as Hoover's. 'It was so good to see them engage more with each other,' Gerritsen said. 'That is the biggest thing that we noticed this year, is the inter-student engagement was completely different than it's been the last couple of years with those older students.' Kelly says classrooms at Hoover came alive without the distractions of phones. 'When you used to go in a year ago, there were a lot of kids honestly looking down at their laps, looking at cell phones,' Kelly remembers. 'You'd go in and a kid would be watching a full-length film on their cell phone!' She says 90% of students followed the rule immediately. Others came around quickly and the entire atmosphere changed. 'Now it's entirely different. You go in there and you hear chatter and engagement and learning—like and energy, a buzz is what I would call it. And not just in the classrooms, in the hallways as well.' Both leaders say they expect other schools to see the same sort of results during the 2025-26 school year as they follow the new law signed by Governor Kim Reynolds this spring, banning cell phones from all Iowa classrooms. Four-day school week 'went fantastic' says Saydel Superintendent 'It ended up being easier than we thought,' Gerritsen says. 'We know we don't have high schoolers. We know that can be a different level of challenge, and I know high schoolers are probably going to approach it differently. They're not going to have wooden boxes in the office to lock 700 phones in. But it can work, and the kids do see that it makes a huge difference for them.' And both leaders agree the key to success is having a clear plan in place. 'First it's explaining the 'why,'' Kelly says. 'Second it is being consistent, and third is trusting your team to do the job—and make sure that your community is supportive of the people who are going to be doing that.' Below are the full interviews with Bergman Academy Director of Student Affairs Sydney Gerritsen and Hoover High School Principal Qynne Kelly. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Axios
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
Hip-hop and graffiti meet rural Iowa at Middle of Nowhere fest
Drive down a gravel road and past fields of corn, and you'll find yourself surrounded by hip-hop music and graffiti artwork at a unique rural festival. Why it matters: The Middle of Nowhere Rural Art & Music Festival showcases music and art, spotlighting the growing diversity in Iowa's often overlooked small towns. State of play: Huxley artist Siriaco "Siricasso" Garcia launched the festival last year in Madrid, Iowa, at The Cellar Winery. Siricasso is known for his murals and arts advocacy across the state, including at Hoover High School and Highland Park. He recently won the governor's emerging arts leader award. How it started: Siricasso worked as an artist in Ames with his wife and kids, but in the city, he found himself "begging" for mural art projects to do. His turning point was when the furnace went out in their mobile home four years ago and it was so cold, the walls started icing over. They moved to Huxley for more affordable housing. Within a year in Huxley — a town of 4,600 people — he'd gotten four mural opportunities. "They showed a lot of love," he says. Details: His art pays homage to Chicano aesthetics, utilizing bold lines and many of the cartoons he grew up with in the '90s. State of play: Siricasso has now painted more than 40 murals in Iowa and works as a full-time artist, regularly booking jobs across the state. He intended the Middle of Nowhere festival to be a way to help people of color in rural areas feel connected. But he also wanted to encourage people in cities like Des Moines to open up and go somewhere they normally wouldn't go. "When you think of rural, you don't think of hip-hop or graffiti — you think of just like country, folk, stuff like that," Siricasso says. "We're bringing that out there and letting people know that we're now here."
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
North Carolina sophomore Reniya Kelly gets to play close to home at Birmingham Regional
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — North Carolina sophomore Reniya Kelly will be playing at home Friday when the women's March Madness Sweet 16 comes to Alabama. Kelly and the Tar Heels face rival Duke in Birmingham. She went to Hoover High School and played at the site of the regional five times. She said she won four of the five, losing her freshman year. 'It means everything. I'm just going to explain this part: I played here in my eighth grade, ninth grade, 10th grade, 11th grade, 12th grade, and only lost one time: it was my ninth grade year," Kelly said. "This is like a full cycle for me, and I'm really excited to be here, especially because my family and friends come out and see me. It's really a blessing to be back home and be close: it's like 20 minutes away from my house, so this is really close to me.' Kelly said she was hoping her team would end up in Birmingham for the Sweet 16. 'I did not want to go to Washington (state),' she said laughing. 'I just love this place so much, because I have so much experience and the atmosphere has always been here.' She was a four-time state champion for Hoover, scoring 2,272 in her career. Her team went 168-10 and her jersey was retired in 2023. 'I've been to Hoover High School many times in order to get Reniya in the Carolina blue,' North Carolina coach Courtney Banghart said. 'I thought she was the most improved player in the ACC. You look at her statistics from Year 1 to Year 2, you look at how she runs our team, how little our team changed and how much better we are, right? It's because she's been in charge of it.' Kelly averaged 9.8 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists this season for North Carolina. She said her favorite memory of playing in the arena came her senior year. She was subbed out with 50 seconds left and the game in hand. It was her last time playing for her high school team. 'I was crying," she said, "and I don't usually cry.' ___ AP March Madness bracket: and coverage: Doug Feinberg, The Associated Press
Associated Press
27-03-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
North Carolina sophomore Reniya Kelly gets to play close to home at Birmingham Regional
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — North Carolina sophomore Reniya Kelly will be playing at home Friday when the women's March Madness Sweet 16 comes to Alabama. Kelly and the Tar Heels face rival Duke in Birmingham. She went to Hoover High School and played at the site of the regional five times. She said she won four of the five, losing her freshman year. 'It means everything. I'm just going to explain this part: I played here in my eighth grade, ninth grade, 10th grade, 11th grade, 12th grade, and only lost one time: it was my ninth grade year,' Kelly said. 'This is like a full cycle for me, and I'm really excited to be here, especially because my family and friends come out and see me. It's really a blessing to be back home and be close: it's like 20 minutes away from my house, so this is really close to me.' Kelly said she was hoping her team would end up in Birmingham for the Sweet 16. 'I did not want to go to Washington (state),' she said laughing. 'I just love this place so much, because I have so much experience and the atmosphere has always been here.' She was a four-time state champion for Hoover, scoring 2,272 in her career. Her team went 168-10 and her jersey was retired in 2023. 'I've been to Hoover High School many times in order to get Reniya in the Carolina blue,' North Carolina coach Courtney Banghart said. 'I thought she was the most improved player in the ACC. You look at her statistics from Year 1 to Year 2, you look at how she runs our team, how little our team changed and how much better we are, right? It's because she's been in charge of it.' Kelly averaged 9.8 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists this season for North Carolina. She said her favorite memory of playing in the arena came her senior year. She was subbed out with 50 seconds left and the game in hand. It was her last time playing for her high school team. 'I was crying,' she said, 'and I don't usually cry.'
