Carly Schroeder
		It’s A Kid Thing Carly Schroeder rejoices at the great opportunities coming her way

	Eleven-year-old Carly Schroeder’s a very familiar face to fans of PORT CHARLES. After all, she’s been gracing their screens as Scott and Lucy’s daughter, Serena, since she was in kindergarten! But to fans of Disney’s LIZZIE McGUIRE, the children’s comedy in which she now plays the recurring role of bad girl, Melina, she’s a brand new star! "I absolutely adore this character," Schroeder enthuses. "She gets to trip boys, throw spitballs at the teacher, and she even draws evil pictures and blames Lizzie’s brother (who’s in love with her) so he gets into trouble." For The Children Working with other child actors has been a blast for Schroeder who has become close with the show’s star, Hilary Duff. In fact she enjoys it so much that she’s teamed up with other young celebs working with a charity called Kids Helping Kids. "I’m really proud to be a part of it," she acknowledges. "We did a food drive for the homeless, raised money and collected coloring books and crayons for the victims of the September 11 attacks, and we even read stories to the kids at Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles." A Little Magic Goes A Long Way Recently, Schroeder got a chance to help even more youngsters — many of whom recognized the young star — by entertaining them at the children’s courthouse in Monterey Park, California, while they awaited adoption. "My little brother, Hunter, and I put on a magic show; we did a couple of card tricks that Kin Shriner (Scott, GENERAL HOSPITAL) taught us and also some illusions like pulling rabbits out of a box and making balls disappear in mid-air!" she offers. The opportunity to observe 635 children obtain new families during the National Adoption Day event, which took place just before Thanksgiving, gave Schroeder the chance to be grateful for her own parents. "I got to watch one little girl getting adopted and her mom started to cry. The little girl said, ‘Mom, why are you crying? Don’t you love me?’ And the mom hugged her and said, ‘I love you more than ever, girl!’" the young actress relates, adding "It was just too much for me. I was crying too!" With her daytime workload lightened this year, Schroeder had returned to public school, but she’s looking forward to seeing more airtime during the holiday season. "I’m very glad to be working on both GENERAL HOSPITAL and PORT CHARLES — that’s awesome!" she enthuses. "Not to be mean to my school, but I get bored when I’m not working, it’s my main hobby!"— Kelli M. Larson