“My name is Emily Danielle Callahan. I was born June 29th, 2006, and I am 17 years old.”
To put Callahan into a bubble of one word is near impossible, but if you truly want to get a sense of this dazzling doll, the word iconic slips right off the tongue. Not only is it one of the blonde’s favorite words, it is truly just facts when it comes to her. Callahan was born in Flint, Michigan, to her adoring parents Maureen and Jeffery Callahan.
She is rather short, standing around five foot three, but she stands with the confidence of someone double her size. With long, blonde highlighted hair and warm blue eyes, Callahan draws anyone in with a simple smile.
Callahan has an older brother, Jacob, who graduated a couple of years ago and is pursuing college in Massachusetts. She does not talk much about her brother but has commented on being proud of him, and thankful for the connections he helped her build in the Kearsley community. A ledge to step on is always helpful, but Callahan has worked hard for where she is.
Students around her often remark how incredible she is, and how they wish they could have as much motivation as her, to that she says to find what motivates you. Callahan says her motivations take the form of “others, like my friends, my role models, people who are successful and have something, a life, that I want that motivates me to want to be better.”
She wants to be viewed highly and to be someone people should look up to. Callahan elaborates on who she views as role models in her life, “my best friend Olivia Dellorsos, and then her whole family who I am very close with. Then, my friends at school, like Mal McCallum and Amelia Sporman. And then just my family, like my mother, Maureen Callahan.”
Jen, Emily, Olivia, Jackie.
When asked where she stood in her class, Callahan was quick to answer. “I work very hard and I am [ranked] four now.¨
You will never see Callahan without a planner, or a to-do list, keeping track of her day as far as the summertime. Despite this commitment to school, she has dedicated herself to multiple extracurricular activities and even jobs!
Most people will recognize her from how often she is seen floating about Kearlsey’s Auditorium. This is because Callahan is the stage manager of the auditorium! She is like a secondhand to the adult manager, Tony Gray. Working the auditorium is like riding a bike for her, something that comes like second nature.
On top of this, Callahan also broadcasts all the varsity football games at Kearsley. Her non-Kearsley-related job is occasionally filling in as a party princess. She even can replicate the signature of Disney Princess Rapunzel. Somehow, she still finds the time to participate in extracurriculars and has one hundred sixty service hours!
Callahan is a part of Kearsley’s Acapella Choir, where she was able to get the title of official stage manager for the vocal program. She is a soprano one in this choir, and proud to be.
A notable accomplishment Callahan is quite fond of, “this year and last year, I got into the Regional Honors Choir. This is when they take the State of Michigan and divide it up into 4 regions and only 160 kids from each region get in to perform in these [mass] choirs, so that is very fun. And last year, my sophomore year I received a one at solo and ensemble and then state solo and ensemble.¨
This songbird is one of two Kearsley students who have made it into the Regional Honors Choir and hopes to become the second to make it to states in her senior year of high school.
Not to mention, Callahan was inducted into the Kearsley Chapter of the National Honors Society. She has received high honors all three years of high school and is excited to be a part of something like this that will further help her gain volunteer experience.
Since the fifth grade, Callahan has found a passion for being on stage. While singing is a huge part, the girl can act like no other. This February, Callahan will lead on stage as PonyBoy Curtis from The Outsiders. She has dedicated three days a week to rehearsal since October and is excited for people to see how much she has poured into this role as it is very outside her casting type.
Even with all this, Callahan wants it to be known,¨I have a life outside of school, and I’m not all book smart.¨ In fact, her dream career has nothing to do with performing, or broadcasting, rather Callahan wants to make a change in the way makeup is created and its impact on the environment.
After some thought, she lays out her plans for after high school, “hopefully I will be going to the University of Toledo and I will get into their cosmetic chemistry program. They have one of the only programs in the country, so in going there I will be formulating and designing cosmetics products, basically the chemistry makeup of them. And hopefully, at some point in my career, I’ll be able to run my own company.”
Not many people consider this when looking at Callahan, but it is something she has spent a long time thinking about. She wants to utilize her love for cosmetics, having been using them for as long as she could hold a brush, and make the world something better.
“I’ve always liked makeup and cosmetics, and then as I’ve gotten older, I’ve really liked learning about what really goes into makeup. At one point I was really into the zero waste movements, but I realized that the location we’re in, we are in such a poor spot for it. Like in LA, they have those kinds of stores that are not as expensive. But here it is quite the opposite so it is just not reasonable, nor accessible, to expect people to be better for the environment. But it is a step we all need to make, in order to help our environment, so I would love to one day make a company line that is good for you, good for the environment, and affordable and accessible to everyone.”
The naked eye could never capture the complexity of Emily Callahan, for she is a wonder the world is lucky to have with her dedication and love for everything she does. She will never give up until she reaches her goals.
