• Login

'N Sync member encourages students to read and realize a dream

www.the-daily-record.com
3.21.08
By RACHEL JACKSON

DALTON DISTRICT -- School is so important that a big-time star returned to his small-town roots Thursday to encourage students to stick with their studies.

Chris Kirkpatrick, a member of 'N Sync and a voice on "The Fairly OddParents," spoke with classes at Dalton Elementary and Intermediate schools as part of Right to Read Week. The 1990 DHS graduate also met with the show choir at a downtown cafe.

He described his experiences as a teenager -- he too was in show choir -- and told of his efforts to make a living through music.

"It all started here," he said.

Kirkpatrick acknowledged it's easy to get discouraged in a small town such as Dalton.

"I always thought, famous people, they come from Hollywood and New York. I didn't think they actually came from Dalton," he said.

He used to walk through the alley and think, "I'm going to be famous -- and then I'd laugh at myself," he said.

"God works in mysterious ways, and here we are," he said.

He sought to encourage the students to persevere, and to keep learning.

"The more you start to figure out what you want to do and where you belong ... you can focus on what you love. You can specialize a lot more," he said.

Music always was something he loved to do, so he learned everything he could about it and continues to take classes, he said.

"I immersed myself in it. I swam in it," he said.

Although he's returned to Dalton many times, Thursday was the first time he visited classes.

"It's weird because that's it -- I was in that same place. ... I'm an idiot kid who grew up in Dalton and barely graduated," he said.

And he knows what it's like to not quite fit in, he said. Even now, he prefers to ride with the crew than with other celebrities, he said.

"I don't hang out with celebrities because they make me nervous," Kirkpatrick said.

He felt it was important to spend time with the students to give them a wider perspective on their studies.

"You don't get, why do I have to read or why do I have to do math. You need all the basics and then you can specialize," he said

.

Musicians need to be able to read music and read various industry publications, for example.

"You need the whole bubble of education. A little of everything," he said.

And although he joked about how school can be a "pain," he hoped students would take seriously the message that reading and learning are important.

"It's cool to come back to see how excited they are," he said. "... The littlest thing can mean a lot to people."

Students were excited to spend their lunch break with Kirkpatrick.

"Anytime someone that grew up where you did makes it big-time somewhere, that's cool," said senior Katelyn Pike, whose sister sent a folder to be autographed.

Senior Scott Geiser said it's good to know Kirkpatrick was willing to come back to his hometown.

"It's cool to know he's from a small town and is able to do a lot with music," Geiser said.

Juniors Hannah Smith and Brittany Gardner and sophomore Hannah Wald said they didn't realize Kirkpatrick was a Dalton grad.

Media outlets often give his hometown as being in Pennsylvania because that's where he was born and went to elementary school, he said.

"It's a unique experience, getting to see someone that grew up in your hometown," junior Sven Isaacson said.

Students need good role models, particularly to remind them that being from a small town shouldn't stand in the way of their goals, Superintendent Scott Beatty said.

"Anything you want to do in your life is possible," Beatty said.

04.06.2008. 18:38

This article hasn't been commented yet.