For most people, the closest they will ever get to a celebrity is the distance from the couch to the TV. But for the few who are lucky enough, one encounter is all it takes to fulfill a dream they once believed was out of reach.
Spanish teacher Lisa Clepper had an interaction with Nia Sioux and her mother Holly Frazier from the show “Dance Moms.”
Clepper was enjoying a dinner with her family at The Cheesecake Factory in Pittsburgh, she said, when the two women walked in with some of their family.
“I told my husband, ‘I know them! They are from “Dance Moms,”’ she said.
Although Clepper was eager to capture the moment with a photo, she said she wanted to ensure she wasn’t crossing any boundaries.
“I was worried about giving them their space and not making them feel awkward because I already felt awkward,” she said.
Clepper said she felt uncomfortable going up to them since they were at dinner, but she didn’t want them to feel her stress. When she went up to their table, it was a positive interaction, she added.
“They were what I expected them to be: friendly and happy to have a fan,” she said.
Clepper said their conversation was quick and involved her expressing her appreciation for the show.
“I think they were nice because I was respectful of their space,” she said. “I let them settle in, eat their dinner and then I quickly took a selfie and went on my way.”
She said she was happy to have a story to tell.
“It was cool to see someone I’ve seen on TV and have a picture with them,” she said. “I was like, ‘I have to record this moment, I may not get it again.’”
Senior Samara Kahan said she felt similarly in wanting to seize the moment when she met Kevin Chamberlin, best known for playing Bertram Winkle in the Disney Channel show “Jessie.” She and her sister met him at Hell’s Kitchen in New York City.
“My sister Talia went to the bathroom, and she came back and said, ‘I think I just saw Bertram,’” Kahan said.
She said she had a hard time believing it was him.
“I obviously had to check it out for myself, so then I went back with her,” she said. “She pointed him out, and I was so surprised.”
She said Chamberlin approached them as he saw the girls pointing, and they told him about their love for “Jessie.”
“We loved ‘Jessie’ at the time, and he would always say this one line, ‘Oh, it’s too far,’” she said. “We wanted to ask him if he would say the line for us in person, and he did.”
English teacher Chad Hemmelgarn had a long encounter with members of a ‘90s band Blessid Union of Souls when he was appointed to assist the band for the night.
Hemmelgarn said his brother owns a music venue and booked the show the band played.
“My brother asked me to be their handler for the evening,” he said. “I had to drive them around, get them things like drinks and food, get them prepped, make sure their stage was ready, keep them happy during their performance and hang out with them for the day.”
He said it was nice to see that they were just normal people. They were close to Hemmelgarn’s age and talked about their families, he added. He said even in a venue with 500 people, they still respected their fans.
“They were just really down to earth, lowkey, easy to hang out with gentlemen,” he said. “They stayed around the venue and took pictures with anyone that wanted pictures, and they did little cameos for people who wanted them.”
Hemmelgarn spent time with them like they were his close friends, and he said they didn’t act above him. In fact, he added, they far exceeded his expectations.
“It made me feel good because I thought it was fascinating that somebody who could achieve fame doesn’t have to hold on to an image that they’re untouchable,” he said.
Senior Harper Phillips also had a positive interaction when she met actor Paul Wesley from the TV show “Vampire Diaries.”
Phillips and a friend traveled to Chicago, Illinois to attend a “Vampire Diaries” convention in September of 2020, she said. Although it was during the COVID-19 pandemic, they were still able to meet Wesley with precautions.
“He was wearing a mask and there was glass between us, but we got a photo, said hi and he asked us how our day was,” she said. “That was about it, but he was really nice.”
She also got to listen to a panel of actors from the show, including Wesley, she added.
“There was a host there that asked them questions and spoke about the show, and there were VIPs who could ask them any questions,” she said.
She added she found him very funny and seemingly similar to how he acted on social media.
Senior Noah Schlondorff had a unique interaction with a music artist while at their concert.
Schlondorff flew to Atlanta, Georgia for a Lizzo concert, he said. He waited for eight hours on the day of the concert to ensure he got a spot in the front of the pit.
Schlondorff said Lizzo brought out roses during one of her songs to give out to her most enthusiastic fans.
“I was singing along, and she had roses for one song,” he said. “She was throwing them as far as she could into the crowd, and then she had one left. She said she was going to wait to give it out until the next song, to give it to someone who had been singing along the whole concert.”
Schlondorff said she went up to him during the next song and started singing with him, proceeding to hand him the last rose.
“They put me on the jumbotron, and it was my little moment of fame,” he said.
He said he traveled home with the rose and dried it so he could preserve it.
Schlondorff said although his interaction felt normal in the moment, seeing someone he never expected to interact with in real life was surreal.
“It was weird to see the person I’ve seen on TV, on the Internet and in videos, right there,” he said.
