Glasgow's Strommen and Hartwell Chosen To Attend Unique Music Camp

Seventh-grader Summer Strommen and freshman Stevie Hartwell, both of Glasgow, have been selected to attend the Fourth Annual Badlands Rising Star Camp in Medora, N.D., Wednesday, July 24 through Saturday, July 27. This exclusive camp includes vocal and performance coaching, basic business and marketing workshops as well as dancing and acting classes. At the end of the camp, Strommen, Hartwell and the other campers will perform alongside Kat Perkins, a top five contestant on NBC's The Voice, in a finale concert on Saturday.

Strommen first found out about the opportunity to apply for the camp through her mom and then forwarded the information onto Hartwell. "We did The Little Mermaid together and we have done voice lessons together. So we decided, why not apply together?" said Strommen. What they didn't realize was how intense the application process was. In addition to filling out an application that included 68 questions, each girl also had to upload a 30-second video of them singing and include three letters of recommendations. "The song I choose was a song that I had recently sang at a talent show. It was crazy how many times we had to re-do the shot to get it perfect," laughed Strommen.

Upon finding out they were admitted, the next step was to secure the funding to go. "There is an entrance fee of $800," stated Hartwell. They both applied for a scholarship through the Rising Star Foundation, which also supports the camp, and achieved a partial scholarship. To help fund the remaining amount, the girls put on a lemonade stand near the swimming pool with a goal of raising $450. Between the two days of manning the stand, the girls raised a total of $550. "The $100 that was raised past our goal will be used to help us get to and from the camp," stated Hartwell.

This experience is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the girls and they are certainly excited for the adventure, even though a tad bit nervous. "When I found out I got in, I was excited and then nervous because I won't know the people there," stated Strommen. "We have been talking about going every day since finding out!," laughed Hartwell. Strommen is hoping to learn new skills and be bold while getting up on stage, while Hartwell is hoping to learn to sing out more when on stage and not be worried about the what-ifs that might happen. In addition to learning new skills as a performer, the girls will have the opportunity to take part in activities such as hiking, golfing and swimming.

To purchase tickets for the show on July 27, visit http://www.Medora.com or call 1-800-MEDORA1. For more information about the Badlands Rising Star Camp and the Foundation visit http://www.risingstarfoundation.org.