SAN PERLITA — On stage, Karsen Kilbourn shines like a star.
After winning a state title, the 16-year-old singer went on to the FFA’s top competition, performing at a national convention that drew 67,000.
“I love to sing. I love to entertain,” Karsen, a junior at San Perlita High School, said. “I can express myself through music.”
Since she was a little girl, she’s been singing.
“I’ve been singing pretty much my whole life,” said Karsen, daughter of Joe David and Laurie Kilbourn of San Perlita.
By fifth grade, she was taking voice lessons.
Then in 2012, she won the school’s talent show.
“Just my experience encouraged me to continue to pursue my passion for singing,” she said.
At school, her teacher Angelica Martinez urged her to sing in Spanish.
So she added Selena’s hits to her repertoire.
“I developed a passion for it,” Karsen said. “I grew up around the Hispanic culture my whole life. Listening to Selena encouraged me to show the other side of me. I sing in all genres — Spanish songs and a lot of country songs.”
Last year, she entered FFA competitions.
By July, she had won the State FFA Talent Competition at the 89th Texas FFA State Convention in Corpus Christi.
“I was surprised because the competitors were all very, very good,” she said. “I was so excited. This was a big step for my FFA chapter — getting recognition for such a small chapter.”
Off stage, the crowd went wild when she sang Selena’s hit “Como La Flor.”
“It got the crowd really excited and surprised that this type of music came out,” she said.
Last month, judges selected Karsen to be among 50 contestants to perform several sets at the 2017 National FFA Convention & Expo in Indianapolis, Indiana.
On stage, she sang everything from Aerosmith’s “Dream On” to Selena’s “Amor Prohibido.”
“It was a great opportunity to perform at the national level,” she said. “I felt very blessed. We are such a small school. This kind of recognition opened the door for other opportunities for our chapter.”
Now, she’s planning to go to college to study geology.
But she’s going to keep singing.
“I hope to inspire young people who want to pursue that passion,” she said.
