Congratulations to Olivia Ehmke, the 2025 Recipient of the Rod Serling Memorial Foundation Scholarship!
Born and raised in Binghamton, New York, Olivia is passionate about academics and performance—dance in particular. At Binghamton High School, she joined theatre, chorus, and after-school dance groups, including the BHS competitive dance team.
Olivia gained inspiration from the staff at the Rod Serling School of Fine Arts and especially from her every-year dance teacher Chelsea Gavazzi. Last summer, she ran a theatre camp and worked to fund a European tour with American Music Abroad.
In local theatre, she won roles such as Maria in The Memorandum and Angela Robson in Billy Elliot, where she worked alongside Broadway professionals and earned credit toward Equity status. She earned lead roles as Roxie Hart in Chicago and Donna in Mamma Mia.
Ranked 7th in her BHS graduating class, Olivia excelled in Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and college-level courses. She held a membership in Tri-M, National, Science, and Math Honor Societies.
Olivia writes: Thank you so much for this generous scholarship. I plan to major in Musical Theater at the University of Buffalo, which is a decision I wouldn’t have come to without the Rod Serling School of Fine Arts.
The Foundation is glad to contribute to this inspiring hard worker’s bright future!
