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CSPA is affiliated with the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University in the City of New York.

The lights dim, the audience becomes quiet and the curtains open. The spotlight lands on a country girl named Millie, played by Emily Rozek, standing there with all the confidence in the world.

Rozek, was born in Boston and always wanted to sing and dance. In a way, "she always knew what she wanted to do in life." Emily first acted on Broadway Annie Get Your Gun in which she played Winnie Tate. She has been in national tours such as South Pacific as Nellie and Sunset Blvd. as Mary. She was so excited to be in such a successful shows as Annie Get Your Gun and now Thoroughly Modern Millie. The story behind Millie is about a Kansas girl coming from a small town to a big city trying to fit in and marry a rich man.

Rozek has been performing all of her life. After she finished her studies at the Boston Conservatory (a private college offering programs in music performance, education and composition, dance and musical theater), she found an agent and began auditioning.

"When you go out for auditions you should be prepared for rejection but if you keep on persevering then you soon will achieve the role that you want," she said.

The first major role that she received was in Annie Get Your Gun and she says she was very excited to participate in such a major show. She says her greatest achievement since she came to Broadway was landing a role in Millie.

Reflecting on her past and preparing to hit the stage, she was very excited and full of energy, ready to give another stunning performance.

Janaine Jaikaran is a junior at Queens Gateway High School in Jamaica, N.Y. Jaikaran is one of 12 New York City high school students selected to participate in the Fall 2003 semester of CSPA's Stringers Program, co-sponsored with Camp Broadway.