Americans tend to be afraid of speaking in public, so much so that studies have shown they are even more afraid of death than speaking in front of an audience.
But those studies fail to mention how many people are even more afraid of singing in public.
Some choose to sing in the shower, and others belt out the lyrics to their favorite songs in the car, but very few people would dare open up to the thought of singing in front of an actual aduience.
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This week’s Whiz Kid is different, however, and actually loves doing what most people would never be caught dead doing.
After growing up in a musical household, Fort Lee’s Arev Dinkjian started singing at the age of six, joined her Church choir and began what became a time-honored tradition at family holidays.
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So it was only fitting that Arev would continue a team tradition and become the official National Anthem singer for the Fort Lee Lady Bridgemen basketball team.
Her father, Ara, is a musician who plays the guitar, piano, drums, clarinet and the oud, an Armenian stringed instrument. He played a big role in growing Arev’s passion into something bigger, by not forcing her to sing, but giving her the power to enjoy the art every day.
“After I told my dad [about singing], then he just let me sing and record stuff whenever I wanted,” the senior singer said. “My dad never pushed me to music but it was always there. It just came easy to me.”
Through her younger years, Arev would learn to play both the guitar and piano as well as learning how to write her own songs.
“I write a lot because I really like to play guitar,” Dinkjian said. “My main [passion is playing] the guitar and singing.”
Arev would continue to do what she loved as the musician grew older and even showcased her talents on social media sites like Facebook for others to enjoy.
When Arev’s basketball team was looking for a new teammate to sing the national anthem before their games, everyone kept calling for Dinkjian to do it.
“As long as I have been a coach here, we have had one of our basketball players sing the national anthem,” said Fort Lee’s third-year coach Stacie Zafiris, who was searching for a new singer this season after Christina Soriano graduated last spring. “I really liked it and I thought it was a nice idea. So I literally just kind of blurted it out and everybody immediately said ‘Arev, Arev, Arev.’”
After consulting with the basketball dribbling, lyrics singing senior, Arev decided to go for it and has been singing the National Anthem before every home game this season.
“The first time I ever sang in front of people not in my family was when I signed up for the talent show last year,” Arev said. “The only reason was because Christina had heard me sing and made me sign up for it.”
That little push elevated Dinkjian to become more comfortable singing in front of an audience, something she is doing a lot more this year.
“At first I said, ‘No way’ because I was too scared,” the singer said. “But after Christine told me to really do it, and coach didn’t want to go back to the tape, I said ‘Ok, I can do this.’”
Just as the music flowed in her blood growing up, singing the Anthem also had a special piece in her family.
“I’ve known the song since I was little because my mom was my pre-school teacher so she made sure that I learned that,” Arev said of her mother Margo.
Even after Christina Aguilera botched the words at the Super Bowl this year, Dinkjian worried about having the same thing happen to her.
“I just look at the flag and think about the meaning instead of the words,” she said.
That type of thinking has lead the senior to a successful season behind the microphone in a selfless approach to helping the team.
Despite not playing a lot of minutes in her final high school season, Dinkjian is making a major impact in other ways.
“I think each game she gets better,” coach Stacie Zafiris said. “The team supports her singing, and she does a great job.”
“The whole team is really supportive of anything we do,” Arev said. “After I always sing it, [my teammates] all high-five me and especially coach Bill Straub. He is the critique and tells me if it’s good or not.”
Dinkjian is a former starter for Fort Lee in earlier years and someone that Zafiris took notice of before joining the program in 2009.
“The character she had as a freshman hasn’t changed,” Arev’s coach said. “She works hard in practice, and her focus is always to get the team better. Even if she is not in the game, she is talking to the team from the bench and she is like a mini-coach.”
But with senior day on Thursday, there is only one chance left for Dinkjian to sing and play in front of the home crowd.
“It’s kind of sad because we only have one more game for her to sing in,” Zafiris said about the last home game of the season. “She is going to be deeply missed.”
Arev plans to continue the hobby of singing, hopes to attend Babson College in the fall and said she would maybe like to try out for American Idol someday.
In order to hear Arev singing the Anthem for the last time this season, fans can visit Fort Lee High School on Thursday night when the Lady Bridgemen host Hudson Catholic at 5 p.m.
Know a great kid who made Eagle Scout or did your local soccer team take the
championship? They may be our next Patch Whiz Kid honoree.
Each week, Fort Lee Patch will seek suggestions from readers for
individual kids, youth groups, teens, and even sports teams that wow us with their
accomplishments. We want to hear about these amazing children and teens and
select one each week as the Patch Whiz Kid. Submit your nomination in our comment box below or e-mail the information to erik.wander@patch.com. Be sure to include all of the following information
● Nominator's Name
● Nominator's E-Mail
● Whiz Kid's Name
● Whiz Kid's Age
● Whiz Kid's School
● Whiz Kid's Accomplishment
● Whiz Kid's Key to Awesomeness (what made him/her successful?)
If your nominee is selected, we'll contact you and asign a photographer to take a photo. For questions, e-mail erik.wander@patch.com
