It’s been almost 19 years since High school musical was premiered for the first time, but the relationships between the actors off-camera are still going strong, especially for KayCee Strohwho starred in the franchise as Martha Cox, an East High student who is passionate about both school and dancing.

PEOPLE recently caught up with Stroh, 40, now married with two daughters living in Salt Lake City, to learn more about what she’s been doing since her days at Disney Channel. During the interview, she revealed which actors from the film she still keeps in touch with and how she credits social media with helping them strengthen their bond.

“I would say that I am very close to Monica Colemanwho played Taylor. My daughters even call her Aunt Mo. She’s come to our house several times – I love Mo,” Stroh says. “I’m also very close to Bart Johnsonwho plays Coach Bolton. It’s funny because people online think it’s the strangest friendship. They wouldn’t have imagined that Martha and Coach would be best friends, but we actually have a long history.”

Stroh goes on to explain how her friendship with Johnson blossomed after she moved to Los Angeles to pursue her acting career. Shortly after moving, she walked into a local church and chanced upon Johnson. From that moment on, he took her under his wing.

“He saved me,” she said. “I was so nervous and I felt like a fish out of water. I was like, ‘Thank you so much.’ Thanks to him, I felt less alone.”

But these two friendships aren’t the only ones in the film that Stroh cherishes. Through social media, she also stayed in touch with Lucas Grabeelwho played Ryan Evans, and Corbin Bleuwho played Chad Danforth. In October, she reconnected with them in person, with Johnson, for a High school musical fan event and autograph signing.

“I feel like the four of us, in particular, stuck together very, very closely,” she says.

“We are very real, genuine friends, texting or calling each other to share if we’re going through a tough time or having a good time,” she adds. “We are each other’s biggest cheerleaders. It’s a huge blessing to have friends like that.”

Never miss a story: subscribe to PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up to date with the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Although some of her former castmates she doesn’t keep in touch with as often, like Ashely Tisdale and Vanessa Hudgenswho are both new mothers, she says, having been the first actress to become a parent, welcoming her daughters in May 2013 and October 2015, she is also willing to help them with their parenting.

“I was way ahead of them,” she says. “It’s pretty cool because I feel like I’m the first and I’ve had all the mom moments, so now I can help,” Stroh says. “They can call me and ask, ‘Is this normal?’ And I’m like, ‘Sure, guys, this is what’s happening.’

“So yes, it’s nice. I tackled the motherhood part for them first. I’m always here to advise you ladies. Always here!” she adds.

Looking back, Stroh looks back on the time of filming Musical High School 2noting how the actors bonded more than ever while living together in a resort during filming. For this reason, this film was his favorite film.

“We were all attached to these little casitas, so our doors connected the 10 main actors. We could go into everyone’s room and I could make dinner for Zac (Efron) or help Ashley (Tisdale) with his laundry and things like that,” she remembers. “It was the first time we all lived together. A lot of the cast were locals from Los Angeles, and some of us were from Utah, so we were all fish out of water at summer camp.”

She continues, “But I will say, watching the third one, it’s been a while. My kids asked to watch it, so we watched it together, and I was like, ‘This is so good!’ looking at it with different eyes now. The songs are absolutely beautiful, the lyrics are timeless and the dance numbers were phenomenal I’m like, “Wow, we really did something special here.”

For Stroh, she High school musical her classmates aren’t the only people she says she was “lucky” to have in her life. During the interview, Stroh talked about her social media journey, which she says has enriched her life with incredible new friends and connections.

Stroh initially joined TikTok after some students in a masterclass she was teaching inspired her to post a dance video. From there, her husband encouraged her to continue. Since then, she has amassed more than 760,000 subscribers on Instagram and 3.3 million followers on TikTok.

“Everyone says social media is a negative thing, but it’s beautiful,” Stroh says. “Not only am I able to reconnect with fans from my past, but I’m also connecting in a way that we couldn’t back then. We were part of a generation where everything remained private on set. We were not allowed to publish anything.

“I’ve had so many amazing moments like this, where I think if you had told little girl KayCee that one day she would collaborate with the heroes she looked up to, I wouldn’t have believed you. I ‘I would have said: “Pinch me.”

A recent “screaming into a pillow” moment occurred when Kristin Chenoweth contacted her on social media to ask if she would be interested in filming a TikTok together.

“She was like, ‘Hey, I don’t want to alienate you, but I’m coming to Salt Lake. Is there any way you might want to meet at East High and make a video? ‘ ” remembers Stroh. “I was like, ‘My soul has left my body. You’re Kristin Chenoweth! I grew up listening to you, trying to copy you. Are you kidding me right now?'”

“Then I had the opportunity to sing a Wicked song with her outside of East High, and I’ve never been so nervous in my life,” she continues. “It wasn’t my best vocal performance, but I don’t care. I knew that if I didn’t ask, I would regret it for the rest of my life. »