provided to The Santiva Chronicle
BIG ARTS honored eight Lee County students with its annual Performing and Creative Arts Scholarships during the Art Vibe celebration on Saturday, June 13, at BIG ARTS. Friends and families of the recipients gathered for the festive evening, which featured student art exhibits, live music, food, drink, art demonstrations, and the presentation of this year’s scholarship awards.
The BIG ARTS Performing and Creative Arts Scholarships are awarded annually to graduating high school seniors and current higher education students from Lee County who are pursuing careers in the arts. Scholarships range from $2,500 to $5,000 and are paid directly to the recipient’s institution, which may be any accredited college or university. This year’s awards totaled $35,000, reflecting BIG ARTS deep commitment to investing in the next generation of artists and helping talented young people from our community turn their creative dreams into lifelong careers.
This year’s scholarship recipients are:
• Kareema Colson, pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Oboe Performance at The Frost School of Music, University of Miami
• Samantha Curls, pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Arts, Entertainment, and Creative Technologies at the Georgia Institute of Technology
• Emily Reagan Feichthaler, pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theater at Georgetown University
• Hazel Fitzpatrick, pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Music (tuba, trombone, and euphonium) at the University of Central Florida
• Gianna Gwendolyn Lieze-Adams, pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater and Performance at Emerson College
• Kaylin Norwood, pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater Arts at Howard University
• Diana Talavera, pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting at Florida Gulf Coast University
In addition to the general scholarship awards, BIG ARTS also presented the Patricia Thurber Memorial Scholarship to Sarah Elizabeth Valentina Conley, who will serve as a Graduate Assistant at the University of Florida while pursuing a Master of Music in Viola Performance.
The BIG ARTS Performing and Creative Arts Scholarships are made possible through the generous support of BIG ARTS donors.