Today we’d like to introduce you to Cara Leighty.
Cara, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’ve always been super creative as a kid. Theatre, music & dancing were my main squeezes as a young child. Growing up I also made funny movies with my sisters with our camcorder. So when it came time to figure out what degree I wanted to pursue in college, I naturally connected to broadcast journalism. I attended Florida Southern College in Lakeland, FL and got a BA in Communication with a concentration in News Media. I got married, moved to Atlanta & graduated college in 2007. After graduation, I quickly realized I didn’t want to work full-time in the newsroom. I mean, some people do …but that wasn’t me.
Around the time I graduated, the US was entering a recession & jobs were hard to find. I worked quite a few odd/end jobs and then a few full-time receptionist/admin jobs until we had kids. Once Jonah & Ellia were born I devoted most of my time to raising them while my husband worked full-time. In-between the chaos of #momlife, I started creating fun/relatable content on Youtube & social media; which also helped to pass the time while they were little. And a great source of video memories!
Soon enough the kids were off to school & I was once again left wondering what to do.
In walked voice acting….
I’ve always had a passion for “doing voices” and have always dreamed of voicing a cartoon since I was younger. I also lent my voice for various video projects over the years as well as doing promos/sweepers for the radio station IBN in Cartersville when they needed some. At the time I had NO experience, but I loved doing it. Furthermore, the passion of voiceacting/vo has always been there, but I just never knew how to “break into the industry”. I remember showing an interest in 2019 & reaching out to a coach, but his prices were so high that it wasn’t an option at the time. So after a year of staying home and “quarantining”, I was ready!
In the Spring of 2021; after creating content online for over 6+ years, I decided to take a fast from social media. The fast was primarily because I didn’t know what direction God wanted me to go in terms of my career. Even though I enjoyed making content on Tiktok (and other platforms), it was just starting to become so overwhelming to me. Also, the algorithm never seemed to like me & I just kept trying to compare my content to everyone else’s. So by doing the fast, I felt that God would show me what I was supposed to do ..and I’d get a little “break” in the process.
After my month-long fast from social media, I came back with the idea of “going back to school” & pursuing a medical degree. That plan was soon squashed after I realized how expensive it would be to do that ..and hard with two littles in elementary school. BUT God; He had other plans. Technically He wanted me to go back to school ..but it wasn’t just ANY school. It was VoiceOver Camp!
In March of 2021, I started taking courses with Voiceover Camp; which is run by Krizia Bajos (voice of The Sims 4 among many other games/TV shows). Voiceover Camp literally changed my life. It lit a fire in me to start pursuing this thing at full steam! I finally got some DIRECTION – Praise God! Currently, I’m continuing to take VO workouts with Voiceover Camp (and the occasional workshop), but I’ve also actually added in some other courses and private coaching with Atlanta Voiceover Studio; which is definitely closer to me here in Atlanta 🙂
Currently, I am training/prepping to record my first commercial VO demo! I’m in absolutely in LOVE with EVERYTHING voice acting & I’m super excited to see where this end of content creation takes me!!!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No, it hasn’t been a smooth road. Before I started on my VO journey I felt a lot of discouragement & frustration; mainly because I really desired to do something creative for my career. Social media can sort of be a little disheartening at times, but I am so thankful to Jesus for saving the best for last! I couldn’t do it without him OR my family. They have encouraged, loved & supported me in so many ways!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a voice actor. Basically, I talk for a living. Fun talk, serious talk, normal conversational talk. You name it! I’m ya girl! I am also hoping to break into the animation industry in the near-future! I secretly want to be a My Little Pony ..not gonna lie.
The thing I am most proud of right now in my career is just my faith. I could’ve given up and totally missed out on these amazing opportunities, but I’ve waited, I’ve been patient & held on ..not even knowing what I was even doing half of the time 🙂
What sets me apart from others? Me! LOL! I truly am a character of my own; and I am so thankful to God for that!
What makes you happy?
Oh gosh! God for sure & my family! God is so good & I am so grateful and thankful for everything He’s blessed me with. Seriously. He’s so good!
Contact Info:
- Email: theleightylife@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/mrsleighty
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/mrs_leighty
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/theleightylife
- Other: www.tiktok.com/@mrsleighty
Image Credits
Logo by ShaxArts
