Campus Celebrity Carla Paige ’17

This is Carla Paige.

She’s just a Freshman on Valdosta State University’s campus and has already been involved in a plethora of things since being here. Carla is the FIRST Miss Phi Beta Sigma at VSU, a Musical Theatre Major, a member of Media Arts Geniuses (MAG) as a singer, actress, dancer, poet, and rapper, 2014-2015 Secretary for Alpha Lambda Delta, and Hall Council for Lowndes residence hall as Secretary. She does so much, it’s a wonder I got a hold of her to do this interview! 

Name: Carla Paige

Classification: Freshman

Major: Theatre (Musical Theatre Emphasis)

Zodiac Sign: Gemini

Her Campus: Why’d you choose to come to VSU? 

Carla Paige: Valdosta State University was my safety school. I knew that if things didn’t go as planned as far as me going to a school with a bigger name in theatre, I would attend a school in the state of GA that was just as adequate.

HC: How do you manage everything on your plate, from all things you’re a part of as well as your personal life?

CP:  I manage everything simply by taking everything step by step and by communicating with myself in terms of what will work and won’t work for me. I don’t ever want to overwhelm myself, so as different opportunities and assignments present themselves, I do them in a timely manner that works for me, even if it’s the day of. But I always get it done.

HC: What inspires you?

CP: The mere idea of success: this vision of living a life indulged solely in what I love doing most. What is better than getting paid for doing something you have an undying passion for? It’s only a bonus. Also, just the fact that I may change someone’s life in some sort of way if I haven’t already. The thought of my future in itself drives me to get to that place. 

HC: What has been your best experience so far?​

CP: Being able to party [laughs]. I never got the chance to do that before college. It’s a cool feeling.

HC: What is your major accomplishment from being at VSU so far?

CP: My biggest accomplishment has definitely been the honor or receiving the title of being Miss Phi Beta Sigma. The title in itself holds so much weight and the fact that I received this in the first semester of my freshman year, makes it that much more of a pleasure. It took a lot for me to take that step and compete in the pageant; I’m a performer, yes, but I’ve struggled at times with insecurities that this pageant helped me challenge and overcome. Nothing can beat that.

HC: You’ve made quite an impact. From only being a freshman to being in MAG and a Musical Theatre Major, how do you cope with everything that’s going on?

CP: I cope by going with the flow. By handling whatever is thrown at me. If I’m asked to do an event, or learn some choreography, or write for something, I do it. It’s a mental thing. Staying focused mentally and talking to myself, literally, about everything that goes on really aids in getting everything done.

HC: Who inspires you?

CP: This may sound cocky or conceited, but I inspire myself. Who knows me better than me? Who knows every single thing I’ve been through besides me? No one. I push myself to places that only God can lead me to. I’m extremely humble in every element of all the talents I’ve been given, but coming from where I come from, I have been my biggest friend and it all starts with the determination of wanting to better and wanting to be better for others. And when no one else is around, I’m there for myself saying “hey, keep moving.” [But] I love my family, and friends, and God.

HC: What do you want to do with your life?

CP: In the future, I hope to open and manage my own entertainment company that employs workshops, software, performance space, classes, and equipment for performers (rappers, directors, singers, actors). Just an all-around place to makes dreams a reality and provide opportunities that I never had to put my talent forth.

HC: What makes you truly happy?

CP: Performing makes me happy. Everything about it. Being able to envelop and be another person and be myself at the same time is crazy. I feel at ease, at home when I’m on stage. I can cry, be happy, be sad, and it’s okay. It’s accepted. I can’t explain it in words, it’s a feeling.

HC: If you were a superlative during your last year at VSU, what do you think you would be?

CP: I most definitely think I would get the superlative for being “Most Talented.” I hear it every time I perform. But in everything that I commit to doing, I do it with as much as passion as the next. It’s just in my blood.

Look our for her single, “The Usual,” which drops on June 6th (her birthday)!