<i> Send School Notes to <a href=mailto:greatfalls@connectionnewspapers.com> greatfalls@connectionnewspapers.com</a>. Deadline is Friday.</i>
Forte Chamber Music announces the 4th Gustavo Romero Piano Competition for Young Artists, to be held Saturday, Oct. 3, 2009, at 10 a.m. at The Joy & Lynch Christian Warehouse Theatre of The Academy of Fine Arts, Lynchburg, Va. The competition is open to pianists age 19
and under by Oct. 1, 2009. Deadline to apply is July 1, 2009.
First prize is $3,000. ,To apply, complete the form at www.fortechambermusic.com
Mary Elizabeth Wilkerson, of Vienna, will be participating in the Graduation Ceremony at the 2009 Virginia Homeschool Convention. Born at home and raised in Vienna, she has been homeschooled from grades K-12. At age 10, Wilkerson began studying Chinese. At 15, she enrolled at Northern Virginia Community College to take Chinese 101 and has been a full-time student at NVCC since that semester. She has 36 college credits with a constant 4.0 GPA. Wilkerson has taken jazz, character, and ballet. She hopes to attend the University of Virginia and receive her doctorate in history and a degree in law, as well as attain fluency in Arabic, Chinese, Russian, and Spanish. She hopes to become President.
Luke Parker, the son of Donald Parker of McLean was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree from Earlham College during commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 9. Parker majored in Psychology.
Great Falls residents Alison Janet Servis and Alison Brooke Weckstein graduated from the University of Mary Washington summa cum laude with bachelor’s degrees in German and political science, respectively.
Soren de Vos of Great Falls was named to the Dean's List at Florida Institute of Technology for the spring semester. A senior, de Vos is pursuing a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering.
Kryssy Cates, a graduate of Clemson summa cum laude 2007, and graduate of Fort Mill High School 2003, was accepted to the Columbia School of Medicine to advance her career in medicine.
Cates, grew up in Vienna, graduated from Fort Mill High School 2003 and Clemson University cumma sum laude 2007 and was recruited by the National Institute of Health (NIH) under a Fellowship to explore and develop scientific studies in research to understand mechanisms of intracellular vesicular transport and its regulation. Her extensive research took place at both John Hopkins in Baltimore, Md., and currently at NIH in Bethesda, Md.
Cates will now further her studies in medicine at University of South Carolina School of Medicine in Columbia, S. C. While living in Chevy Chase, Md. and working full-time at NIH, Cates served as a nanny for tree children, and a discussion leader for Bible Study Fellowship. She also served at McLean Bible Church, with Lon Solomon as Lead Pastor, as a youth leader.
The Optimist Club of Greater Vienna presented its annual Partners in Education awards to three Career Specialists who serve in local high schools: Lynn Otto from Madison High, Susan Malik from Marshall High and Marian Kendrick from Oakton High School were recognized for their dedicated service over the years in preparing our high school students as they transition to college and prepare to pursue lifelong careers. In addition, these educators have partnered with the Optimistic Club of Greater Vienna to help us identify students worthy of recognition and honor for their academic achievements and contributions to the community.