The Washington DC Chapter of the National Society of Arts and Letters recognized four West Potomac High School juniors for their accomplishments in the fine arts at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Eliza Lore received an Award for Excellence in the Arts for Drama. Eduardo Perez-Reyes, drama; Patrick Rhoads, music; and Emma Schmidt, art, each received Certificates of Merit.
The NSAL is a non-profit, volunteer organization of men and women who are professionally engaged in the fine arts. Its mission is to support development of talented young Americans in art, dance, drama, literature, music, and musical theater.
Army Cadet John T. Rice has received the George C. Marshall Award from the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Va. The Vanderbilt University student is the son of Julia Rice of Alexandria, and William Thomas Rice of Annapolis. He graduated in 2009 from West Potomac High School.
Fairfax County Public Schools students won awards at the Family Career and Community Leaders of America state conference held recently in Virginia Beach. Ten of the winners will represent Virginia at the national competition in Nashville in May. The following students also received awards at the state conference: Mount Vernon High School: Beatrice Asuaa and Eva Asumadu, silver in advocacy; Jessica Montoya and Angelica Santiago, silver in applied technology; Isaac Castro-Aranda, Carlos Rice, and Estevan Vega, bronze in culinary arts; Danielle Allen, gold in job interview; Brianna Ragland and Franqui Pierce, silver in illustrated talk; Karla Vasquez, bronze in focus on children; Lexi Halstead, silver in recycle and redesign; and Anika Arviso, Shahara Simmons and Natalie Allen, bronze in life event planning.
Hampden-Sydney College senior George Forrest Allen recently received the James Madison Public Service Certificate on behalf of the Wilson Center for Leadership in the Public Interest. A Venable Scholar, Forrest serves as a resident advisor. Forrest, a foreign affairs major, is a graduate of West Potomac High School and is the son of George and Susan Allen of Alexandria.
Mickayla Noel, 15, of Alexandria, has been accepted and will attend Interlochen Arts Academy, a fine arts boarding high school. Mickayla, the daughter of Ronald and Evette Noel, will study creative writing at the Academy. Previously, Mickayla has been a student at Bishop Denis J. O’Connell and is a distinguished scholar alumni of the DC based Higher Achievement Program. Mickayla attended the HAP Alexandria Achievement Center, after school and during the summer from the 5th through 8th grade. She has participated in mock trial exercises, business plan development workshops, and a poetry workshop conducted by White House Fellows.
A gifted speaker and poet performer, Mickayla has had the opportunity to speak around the Mid-Atlantic region, and has performed her original poetry at a variety of venues, including the internationally renowned Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Over the summer, before starting her sophomore year at Interlochen, Mickayla will combine her interest in writing, performing, debate, public speaking, and the law by accepting an invitation to attend the Law & Trial Conference for High School Students at Stanford University Law School; she will study interpretive performance and engage in original oratory labs at the George Mason Institute of Forensics at George Mason University; and finally, she will explore different genres, such as short fiction, journalism, play and screenwriting, reuniting with other DYWC Alum at the Duke Young Writers Camp at Duke University.
Julia Larsen, a junior at Connecticut College, took part in "Into The Woods," a Theater and Music Department production, held April 25-28 in Tansill Theater at Connecticut College. Larsen played the part of Voice of the Giant and served as props designer for the production. Larsen is a 2010 graduate of Oakcrest School, and is the daughter of Cynthia and Kenyon Larsen of Alexandria.
Edmund Hammond and Caleb Williams have been admitted to Saint Augustine's University for the fall semester.
Colin Chadduck graduated from Emory & Henry College.