43
Meeting with Miley Cyrus embellishes Struthers’ girl's wish
Photo
Suzie Mazzocco was surprised with tickets to a Miley Cyrus concert. The tickets and other gifts were presented at an assembly at Struthers Elementary School on Wednesday. Suzie has a rare bone-growth disorder that results in dwarfism. She has had 17 surgeries.
STAFF REPORT
STRUTHERS — Suzie Mazzocco’s not only going to the Miley Cyrus concert in Cleveland on Sunday — she’s going to meet the teen pop star.
The 9-year-old Struthers Elementary School third-grader, who has a rare bone-growth disorder and has endured 17 surgeries, was surprised Wednesday at the school with concert tickets for her and her family.
The tickets were provided by radio station WHOT 101-FM, and station personalities presented them to Suzie in front of her teachers and classmates who’d gathered in the gym.
Laurie Serenko, who spearheaded the effort to get Suzie to Cleveland to see her idol, said publicity about the school assembly and about Suzie made its way to a Disney music producer in New York.
Serenko, an intervention specialist at Struthers Elementary, said staff at the school sent the producer a link to a Vindicator story that was on the front page of Thursday’s edition.
Now, Suzie is one of only 100 people who are invited to meet Cyrus before the concert, Serenko said Friday.
She, her parents, two brothers and Serenko are among 10 people from Struthers who will be included in the group. The others are Serenko’s two adult daughters; an aide at the school, Chrystal Alford; and Suzie’s cousin, Ashley Tanner.
The group will be allowed to watch Cyrus rehearse, watch a sound check and have pictures taken with the star, who plays Hanna Montana on the Disney Channel show, Serenko said.