December 3, 2021
In
Shooting Stars
2022 Shooting Stars Finalists
The Arts make an important contribution to any community’s quality of life and are an essential part of every student’s educational experience, teaching 21st Century workplace skills, innovation, critical thinking, collaboration, communication and self-expression.
The Shooting Stars Program celebrates young artists and arts educators for their artistic achievements with college scholarships, awards and honorariums. Since 1997, the Shooting Stars Program has recognized over 1,000 high school seniors for their artistic excellence and contributions to their community.
Nine first place scholarships of $1,400 each, nine second place scholarships of $700 each and nine teacher honorariums* of $300 each will be awarded (*to the nominating teacher of the first place scholarship recipient) at the annual Shooting Stars Gala on April 3, 2022. Shooting Stars’ scholarships, awards and teacher honorariums are funded by private donations from corporations, foundations and individuals.
| Category | Finalist Name | Nominating Teacher | High School |
|---|---|---|---|
| Theatre Performance | Abby Strella | Dustin Pence | Olathe North |
| Anne Borberg | Cassie Banion | Shawnee Mission Northwest | |
| Brooklyn Drabant | Jason Hagg | Gardner-Edgerton | |
| Christine Turner | Jon Copeland | Mill Valley | |
| Emma Hildebrand | Octavius Womack | Heritage Christian Academy | |
| Essy Siegel | Brian Cappello | Shawnee Mission South | |
| Guyon Grant | David Hastings | Olathe South | |
| Joey Compton | Jeff Yarnell | Blue Valley | |
| Kalista Brown | Alisha Morris | Olathe West | |
| Katie Dors | Kim Spillman | Saint Thomas Aquinas | |
| Mathys Moore | Sarah Cronkleton-Kidd | De Soto | |
| Maya Welde | Sydney Kohart | Blue Valley Northwest | |
| Rachel Montemayor | Amy Hastings | Olathe Northwest | |
| Sophia Nordling | Elizabeth Nelson | Bishop Miege | |
| Voice Classical | Alexsandra Bonilla | Mindy Fry | De Soto |
| Carlee Elsner | Pamela Williamson | Olathe Northwest | |
| Cat Sanders | Cassie Banion | Shawnee Mission Northwest | |
| Emma Heidesch | Catherine Boone | Saint Thomas Aquinas | |
| Grace Hernandez | Kimberly Modelski | Blue Valley West | |
| Hayley O’Keefe | Jessie Reimer | Mill Valley | |
| Jason Casey | Sam Diollins | Blue Valley | |
| Jessica Pittenger | Micah Horton | Olathe North | |
| Molly McBride | Elise Peterson | Olathe South | |
| Natalie Poliscky | Elizabeth Richey-Sullivan | Blue Valley Northwest | |
| Olivia Mancina | Elizabeth Mulkey | Notre Dame de Sion | |
| Paul Spenceri | Josh Lawlor | Rockhurst | |
| Ty Eubanks | Jason Sickel | Blue Valley North | |
| Will Edeal | Derek Cross | Shawnee Mission West | |
| Production & Design | Carly Welter | Dustin Pence | Olathe North |
| Claire Winston | Chris Palmer | Shawnee Mission North | |
| David Morones | Alisha Morris | Olathe West | |
| Louisa Mills | Thomas DeFeo | Shawnee Mission East | |
| Taylor Helm | Mark Swezey | Shawnee Mission South | |
| 2D Visual Art | Abigail Rhodus | Chelsie Kane | Saint Thomas Aquinas |
| Anna Kratochvil | Darby Murdock | Blue Valley West | |
| Arin Sowell | Adam Finkelston | Shawnee Mission East | |
| Brian Thomas | Sarah Johnson | Kansas City Christian | |
| Carly Riggs | Christine LaValley | Blue Valley Northwest | |
| Eli Kumin | Abbey Thomas | Olathe Northwest | |
| Elizabeth Nordhus | Elizabeth Smith | Notre Dame de Sion | |
| Ella Steinmetz | Kimberly Ruttan | Shawnee Mission Northwest | |
| Emily Schutzel | Toni Britt | Gardner-Edgerton | |
| Emma Gulledge | Mark Mosier | Blue Valley | |
| Garrett Parish | Tom Holland | Blue Valley North | |
| Giselle Garza | Stephanie Dalley | Shawnee Mission North | |
| Josh Howard | Kristin Howard | Heritage Christian Academy | |
| Lilliana Hughey | Lori Ludwig | Olathe East | |
| Maddy Williams | Erica Matyak | Mill Valley | |
| Noah Green | Roger Messersmith | Olathe South | |
| Sarah Golec | Emily Patterson | Blue Valley Southwest | |
| Waverly Altis | Tim Mispagel | De Soto | |
| 3D Visual Art | Destyni Meadows | Stephanie Kates | Shawnee Mission Northwest |
| Kastin Galloway | Brad Reinking | Spring Hill | |
| Katelyn Dewhurst | Scott Ledbetter | Olathe West | |
| Laney Snyder | Lorissa Reeves | Olathe South | |
| Maya Flynn | Jennifer Hensley | Shawnee Mission East | |
| Mimi Vanbeber | Nicholas Tomasic | Blue Valley West | |
| Nathan Li | Kristin Howard | Heritage Christian Academy | |
| Phoenix Helpingstine | Lori Ludwig | Olathe East High School | |
| Strings | Dylan Sutherland | Adam Keda | Shawnee Mission East |
| Emma Welsh | Joel Martin | Olathe Northwest | |
| Jocelyn Wang | Amy Fear | Blue Valley | |
| Jonathan Staten | Alison Mayes | Blue Valley Southwest | |
| Melody Jiang | Greg Ferguson | Olathe South | |
| Sam Nissen | Brandon Hord | Rockhurst | |
| Literature | El O’Brien | Kat Buchanan | Blue Valley North |
| James Pressdee | Maureen Davis | Blue Valley | |
| Kaleah Peterson | Lindsey McFall | Shawnee Mission South | |
| Rachael Mallozzi | Crystal Sinclair-King | De Soto | |
| Simone Collins | Rachel Mulvihill | Olathe East | |
| Photography | Cooper Holmes | Carla Roberts | Blue Valley West |
| Grace Billman | Michael Johnston | Blue Valley | |
| Sasha Malik | Adam Finkelston | Shawnee Mission East | |
| Stephanie Jamie-Torrecilla | Melissa Seller | Olathe East | |
| Amaya Reyes | Kimberly Ruttan | Shawnee Mission Northwest | |
| Winds & Percussion | Audrey Montanez | Helen Harrelson | Saint James Academy |
| Delaney Sloan | Robert Davis | Olathe Northwest | |
| Drew Holzmark | Patrick McCarty | Olathe North | |
| Leah Slemmons | Justin Love | Blue Valley West | |
| Jillian Velazquez | Will Biggs | Gardner-Edgerton | |
| John Muldoon | Daniel Freeman | Blue Valley North | |
| Lloyd Dodson | Steve Adams | Shawnee Mission South | |
| Luke Inman | Chad Reed | Shawnee Mission North | |
| Ryan Campbell | Brandon Hord | Rockhurst | |
| Ryan Handley | Matt Bradford | De Soto | |
| Thomas Palecki | Laura Bock | Blue Valley Southwest | |
| William Sharp | Jeff Smikahl | Olathe East |