2018 Shooting Stars Scholarship Award Recipients
OVERLAND PARK, KS – At the 21th annual Shooting Stars Gala on March 25, 2018, the Arts Council of Johnson County (ACJC) awarded scholarships to 18 high school seniors and recognized the 107 total finalists nominated for the 2018 Shooting Stars Awards. This recognition program honors Johnson County high school students for achievement in nine categories of literary, performing and visual arts. Nine $1,400 first-place scholarships and nine $700 second-place scholarships were awarded to the top-scoring students to recognize excellence in each category of art. The nine teachers that nominated the first-place student in each category also received a $350 honorarium. The program is supported by Johnson County and area foundations, corporations and individual donors.
Shooting Star Scholarship Recipients
Winds & Percussion
Alex Jashinski $1,400 Blue Valley West
Teacher: Cheryl Lee
Sophia Hollman $700 Shawnee Mission Northwest Teacher: Doug Talley
Theatre Performance
Adyson Shaw $1,400 Blue Valley High School Teacher: Marsha Moeller
Camryn Hampton $700 Shawnee Mission West
Teacher: Eric Magnus
Voice Classical
Abbey Sensenich $1,400 Blue Valley North
Teacher: Jason Sickel
Matthew Robison $700 Shawnee Mission Northwest Teacher: Cassie Banion
Photography
Julia Rosher $1,400 Pembroke Hill Upper School Teacher: Connie Creek
Kira Higgins $700 Blue Valley Southwest Teacher: Sarah McKee
Strings
Kenton Huff $1,400 Olathe Northwest
Teacher: Joel Martin
Shulammite Lim $700 Olathe North
Teacher: Cecily Mahan
3D Visual Art
Suhyun Park $1,400 Notre Dame de Sion Teacher: Michael Pesselato
Joseph Hatzfeld $700 Olathe Northwest
Teacher: Tim Barnes
2D Visual Art
Kinsey McCormick $1,400 Gardner-Edgerton Teacher: David Kalkman
Kaitlin Yu $700 Blue Valley High School
Teacher: Kim Francis
Production & Design
Devin Palmer $1,400 Shawnee Mission South Teacher: Mark Swezey
Madison Cole $700 Shawnee Mission North Teacher: Chris Palmer
Literature
Micah Faulds $1,400 De Soto
Teacher: Phillip Hamilton
David Edmonds $700 Rockhurst
Teacher: David Spitz
Since its beginning in 1997, the Shooting Stars program has honored more than 1,500 high school seniors and hundreds of arts educators. More than $200,000 has been awarded in college scholarships and almost $65,000 in teacher honorariums. Beyond a celebration, the Shooting Stars program is an important recognition of the value and impact Arts education has on our youth and on our community as a whole.
Percussionist, Arts advocate and KMBC weatherman, Bryan Busby, once again served as emcee for the Shooting Stars Gala. Speakers included Gerald (Gerry) Baird, Gala Honorary Chair. Baird devoted his professional career to Higher Education, serving as Vice President, Finance and Administrative Services for Metropolitan Technical Community College in Omaha, Nebraska; an adjunct professor at the University of Kansas, the University of Texas – Austin, Saint Louis University and Baker University; and as the Executive Vice President of Administrative Services for Johnson County Community College (JCCC). While at JCCC Gerald was actively involved in facilities including the construction and design of new buildings. A particular source of pride was his involvement in the design and construction of the Carlsen Center performing arts facilities and the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art. Since retiring in 2010, Gerald has remained committed to his community as a volunteer. He serves on the Board of Director for Mainstreet Credit Union, the Johnson County Museum Foundation Board, the Building Permits and Zoning Appeals Boards for the city of Lake Quivira, and the JCCC Retirees Association Board. Gerald attended the University of Nebraska where he earned B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees.
Baird told student and the audience, “Creativity is essential to every student’s educational experience; teaching critical thinking, communication, and collaboration can be a tremendous confidence booster. All skills that are crucial in our schools, our communities and our workforce and all skills that are taught by Arts education.”
Another speaker included Shooting Stars alum Mike Ott, who graduated from Shawnee Mission North in 2000, and received his BA in Theatre from UMKC in 2005. Ott is a local actor/singer/voiceover artist. In the time since being a Shooting Star, he’s been seen on numerous stages both locally and regionally. Local credits include, Milking Christmas, The Ballad of Lefty & Crabbe, Chainsaw: The Musical (The Living Room Theatre), Heathers: The Musical (Unicorn Theatre), Chainsaw: The Musical (Kokopelli Theatre Company), Kiss & Tail (Co-production between The Living Room Theatre & KC Zoo), Rosa Parks & The Montgomery Bus Boycott (Coterie Theatre), The Last Night of Ballyhoo, Arsenic & Old Lace(Script-In-Hand Series) (Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre), Cinderella, If You Give A Cat A Cupcake, Twas the Night Before Christmas, How I Became A Pirate (Theatre for Young America), as well as numerous KC Fringe Festival productions and staged readings.
In sharing his own perspective of being a Shooting Stars alum, Mike Ott congratulated the 2018 Shooting Stars finalists. “On behalf of the artistic community of Kansas City, we can’t wait to see what stories you’ll create next, and in what form those stories will take shape. You’ve found your voices. You are Shooting Stars!” Ott said.
“Johnson County was fortunate to have the leadership of former ACJC chairman Bob Endres, who first envisioned the the Shooting Stars recognition program to celebrate young Johnson County artists for their artistic excellence in high school,” said Sarah VanLanduyt, ACJC Executive Director. “For 21 years now, the Shooting Stars awards have recognized the best of the best high school artists, with nominations coming from their high school Arts teachers.”
“Students with skills in the Arts bring creativity, ingenuity, and perspective to science, technology, engineering and math careers, which will prepare them well for many jobs that are continuing to develop in the 21st century,” said Brian Williams, ACJC Board President. “The Shooting Stars program acknowledges the critical role the Arts play in our current education and future workforce. Many Shooting Stars program finalists plan to pursue studies and careers in the Arts – others will pursue STEM careers. Whatever path that these budding artists pursue, their participation in the Arts makes them uniquely qualified to contribute to wide variety of future endeavors.”
“Many Shooting Stars Finalists excel in science, technology, engineering, arts and math,” added Sarah VanLanduyt, Arts Council of Johnson County Executive Director. “It’s not uncommon for these students to major in a STEM field of study, yet continue to pursue their art in college and beyond. The judges say that selecting the scholarship recipients is a challenging task because of the high-caliber of talent expressed by each of the nominees.”