By: Jared Owenby

Pedro De Abreu: Most Likely to Succeed

Pedro De Abreu was born in Brazil, into a life of poverty and hardship. Many times he roamed the streets wondering what he would do in life and how he would be able to do it. In 2005, at the age of 15, he moved to the United States not knowing any English and realized the odds were against him. However, the resilient young man was ready for whatever battles he would face on the road to success. Today, Pedro has achieved more in the few years he has been in the US than most people do in a lifetime.

After high school, Pedro moved to Los Angeles where, along with two partners, he helped found a multi-media company before deciding to attend university. Back in South Carolina, Pedro established the Check Mate Foundation, a non-profit organization that teaches chess and leadership to children.

Currently in his third-year year at USC, Pedro is triple majoring in Business Economics, Management and Organizational Leadership, all the while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. For all his accomplishments, the Coca-Cola Foundation and USA Today named Pedro as South Carolina’s New Century Scholar for 2011.

Even with all the success and rewards he has gotten for his hard work, Pedro will admit that his greatest joy in life is helping others achieve their goals and dreams.

“What keeps me motivated is having the awareness that I can make a difference and that I can impact someone’s life. One of my goals is to let people know that they can do the same thing.”

In recent years he has become a sought after motivational speaker, teaching topics of self-awareness, self-motivation, and achieving goals. Here are five things Pedro wants USC students to remember on their journey to success:

• Know where you want to go in life
• Be passionate
• Be patient
• Get rid of low self-esteem
• Know that you are capable of achieving anything

If you would like to know more about Pedro De Abreu or his upcoming events visit pedrodeabreu.net or facebook.com/pedrodeabreu.

Chuck Teez: Most Likely to be Heard on the Radio

Oh Boy! South Carolina has a new MC on the rise, and he doesn’t plan on stopping until he gets to the top. Fourth-year advertising student Charles Washington, aka Chuck Teez, and sometimes Mr. Star Move, is making moves to become the next big thing in the rap game. Born in Japan and raised in a military family, Charles has seen a lot of the world.  The majority of his upbringing was spent in Charleston, South Carolina, however Charles traveled the globe as a youngster gaining experiences he would later use to create his music.

Charleston, known as Chucktown to many, was the birthplace of the name Chuck Teez.

“My friends called me Chuck, and they started playing around and calling me Chuck Teez - it kind of stuck from there,” he says. Charles tells G&B he came to USC to ‘put on’ for the Gamecock Nation and will focus on his degree for the time being.

The young rapper has some pretty impressive achievements to date. He has worked with old school rap legend Dana Dane, best known for his single, ‘Cinderfella’, released in 1987. In fall 2011, Chuck’s single, ‘Star Move’, was first played at a Dallas Cowboys football game. After recording the song, Chuck thought it would be a good fit for the Cowboys so he started calling the franchise to promote it.  It took a while to find the right person to get his song played, but he didn’t give up.   “That’s my mind set– I’m always thinking outside the box, never thinking local, always thinking global.”

Chuck is currently working on an album with the goal of eventually landing a deal with a record label. As for the future, he plans to focus more on promotion and a possible tour. For more information about Chuck Teez and what he is up to, visit facebook.com/TheRealChuckTeez, @Chuck_Teez, or chuckteez.com.

Katie Marissa: Most Likely to Defy Gravity

From Macbeth to Hairspray, fourth-year theatre student, Katie Marissa, knows how to capture an audience with genuine acting and believable emotion. Before becoming an actress, Katie was heavily involved with dance. She first began dancing at the age of five, which led to cheerleading and eventually acting. Clearly Katie first performed in front of an audience at a very young age, and she doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon.

She has already built an excellent resume of projects that include eight different plays, films, and commercials. Katie is also trained in basic stage combat and aerial silk, a type of performance found in shows such as Cirque du Soleil, in which an artist performs acrobatics while hanging from a piece of fabric, free of any harnesses or safety nets.

After graduation, Katie plans on moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting. Her goal is to find work in film rather than theater, but if need be, she has no problem getting back on stage and performing.

“I don’t think I’m really in a position right now to be too picky. I like doing stage and there is plenty of it out in California.” Currently, she is working on a student film, ‘The Saint,’ a supernatural/action short about a duo named The Saint and Gabi.  Having completed the first episode of ‘Outpost 409’, which can be viewed on You Tube, there is talk about continuing the sci-fi comedy web series. To learn more about Katie and her upcoming projects, you can check out videos, and more at her website, www.katiemarissa.com.

Ever wanted to learn how to swing and twist like those in “Saturday Night Fever” and “Step Up”? Many in Columbia feel the same way, and dance-themed nights can meet several tastes and styles and are sure to provide some entertainment for you and your friends.