2023 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 2, 2023.  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	Brett Oplotnik	Sydney Kohart	Blue Valley Northwest
	Cannon Simpson	Jeff Yarnell	Blue Valley
	Carter Harvey	Jon Copeland	Mill Valley
	Claire Deardorff	Derek Cross	Shawnee Mission West
	Ella Bentley	Dustin Pence	Olathe North
	Emma-Kate Salin	Taryn Gervais	Blue Valley Southwest
	Grace Fields	Brian Capello	Shawnee Mission East
	Jay Allen	David Hastings	Olathe South
	Layla Abu Saada	Eddie Shafer	Olathe East
	Lee Barth	Sarah Cronkleton-Kidd	De Soto
	Lillie Barr	Reed Uthe	Blue Valley West
	Naida Kosek	Mark Swezey	Shawnee Mission South
	Olivia Cupp-Korb	Alisha Morris	Olathe West
	Piper Warren	Jason Hagg	Gardner-Edgerton
	Sage Hawkins	Ben Bartlett	Shawnee Mission North
Voice Classical	Brayden Heath	Jessie Reimer	Mill Valley
	Brynn Friesen	Samuel Dollins	Blue Valley
	Claire Doherty	Beth Richey-Sullivan	Blue Valley Northwest
	Elaine Jensen	Kelli Baker	Gardner-Edgerton
	Ellen Kryer	Kimberly Modelski	Blue Valley West
	Emily Mlodzik	Mindy Fry	De Soto
	Eva Girard	Jaclyn Krulik	Blue Valley North
	Jack Wilson	Micah Horton	Olathe North
	Janiel Balino	Catherine Boone	Saint Thomas Aquinas
	Kaitlyn Lingle	Steve Gordon	Maranatha Academy
	Kate Meives	Laura Klaassen	Olathe East
	Maddie Blackman	Laura VanLeeuwen	Olathe West
	Samantha Wallenburg	Derek Cross	Shawnee Mission West
	Sydney Muder	Elise Peterson	Olathe South
Production & Design	Claire McLewin	Amy Hastings	Olathe Northwest
	Emily Heflin	Alisha Morris	Olathe West
	Hannah Willard	Garry Goddard	Olathe East
	Katie Bauman	Dustin Pence	Olathe North
	Kurt Freeman	Tom Defeo	Shawnee Mission East
	Savannah Miner	Shawnasea Holst	Shawnee Mission Northwest
	Sophia Krauskopf	Jason Hagg	Gardner-Edgerton
2D Visual Art	Ahna Chang	Amanda Lee	The Barstow School
	Ashley Rottinghaus	Roger Messersmith	Olathe South
	Avery Johnsmeyer	Emily Patterson	Blue Valley Southwest
	Didi Fu	Lori Ludwig	Olathe East
	Jade Achen	Adam Finkleston	Shawnee Mission East
	Julie Steeb	Tim Mispagel	Do Soto
	Karissa Rangel	Kathleen Bock	Olathe North
	Lettie Featherston	Courtney Dougherty	Shawnee Mission South
	Lily Steinbrink	Chris LaValley	Blue Valley Northwest
	Macie Hartwick	Cherie Dean	Maranatha Academy
	Madison Orth	Toni Britt	Gardner-Edgerton
	Max Leiker	Anna Johnson	Saint Thomas Aquinas
	Mich Morasch	Ashley Moll	Blue Valley
	Mikenna Heller	Melissa Terryberry	Shawnee Mission Northwest
	Patty Morales	Tom Holland	Blue Valley North
	Rose Bennett	Stephanie Dalley	Shawnee Mission North
	Sydney Barge	Erica Matyak	Mill Valley
3D Visual Art	Alejandra Loya	Krystal Strong	Mill Valley
	Alyssa Merry	Michael Johnston	Blue Valley
	Aubrey Sanchez	Lisa Hirsch	Olathe Northwest
	Audrey Roberts	Carly Kimbrough	Blue Valley Northwest
	Graelen Carter	Courtney Dougherty	Shawnee Mission South
	Hadley Tuel	Carly Graceffa	Blue Valley Southwest
	Lana Skaggs	Elijah Schraad	Shawnee Mission West
	Leah Tarwater	Chelsie Kane	Saint Thomas Aquinas
	Lola Sidie	Jennifer Hensley	Shawnee Mission East
	Mira Becker	Nicholas Tomasic	Blue Valley West
	Molly Ramsey	Rachel Elyachar	Blue Valley North
	Ruby Dickie	Brad Reinking	Spring Hill
Strings	Aidan Cobos	Amy Fear	Blue Valley
	Alana Schmalzried-Lugo	Joel Martin	Olathe Northwest
	Andrea Allen	Cecily Mahan	Olathe North
	Kayoko Thornton	Travis Hale	Blue Valley North
	Lisa Ji	Andrew Book	Blue Valley West
Literature	Abby Rasmussen	Lindsey McFall	Shawnee Mission South
	Abigail Swanson	Amy Anderson	Shawnee Mission East
	Caroline Stickney	Deidre Zongker	Olathe North
	Catheryn Poe	Zachary Gall	Blue Valley West
	Jacqueline Kallas	Sarah Taber	St. Teresa’s Academy
	Quindale Adams	Rachel Mulvihill	Olathe East
	Supriya Bolla	Kat Buchanan	Blue Valley North
	Sydney Bonnstetter	Ryan Meara	De Soto
	Tess Vanberg	Maureen Davis	Blue Valley
	Wyatt Vaughn	Cindy Roth	Olathe South
Photography	Alex Dean	Mark Mosier	Blue Valley
	Alyssa Ratcliffe	Mary Schulte	Gardner-Edgerton
	Audrey Morehead	Adam Finkelston	Shawnee Mission East
	Ava Recker	Sarah McKee	Blue Valley Southwest
	Clara Burke	Aimee Price	Blue Valley West
	Comfort Adegoke	Kimberly Ruttan	Shawnee Mission Northwest
	John Costello	Melissa Sellers	Olathe East
	Julia Schnittker	Mark Rice	Shawnee Mission South
	Leah Candelario	Emily Hensley	Blue Valley North
	Regan Rieder	Cherie Dean	Maranatha Academy
	Sophia Volovoy	Brian Pollack	Blue Valley Northwest
Winds & Percussion	Alex Brady	Helen Harrelson	Saint James Academy
	Jack McNiel	Brandon Lesando	Blue Valley Southwest
	Josh Droegemeier	Will Biggs	Gardner-Edgerton
	Liam Courson	Jeff Smikahl	Olathe East
	Nithya Kailad	Josh Maddux	Olathe North
	Oliver Zhang	Daniel Freeman	Blue Valley North
	Quinlan Hall	Bill Thomas	Shawnee Mission West
	Sienna DelBorrell	Deb Steiner	Mill Valley
	Trey Krizek	Justin Love	Blue Valley West