The City Education Trust each year recognizes outstanding achievements of educators and students with the presentation of the Stephens Award. MSM Visual Arts Teacher Marianne Nolley, English Teacher Noel Gieringer, and Math Teacher Teresa Chudy were three of the seven high school teachers in Little Rock selected to receive a Stephens Award recognizing their outstanding and inspirational teaching. Mount St. Mary senior Katie Strickland is among the eight student recipients who have been selected to receive a $5,000 cash award to be used for college expenses. Award recipients will be honored at the Stephens Award Ceremony on Monday, April 23, at 4 p.m. in the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce AT&T Auditorium.

“I’m proud that Katie and our teachers are receiving the accolades they deserve,” said Principal Angie Collins. “These awards are a reflection of our culture here at Mount St. Mary, a culture of encouraging and preparing people to be the best they can be and then celebrating their success.”

Katie Strickland is a Finalist in the National Merit Scholarship Program and is currently enrolled in six AP courses at MSM.  Among her many accomplishments, she is Vice President of the Senior Class, Lead Counsel for Mock Trial, Captain of the Quiz Bowl Team and Beta Club Vice President.

Ms. Nolley teaches all art classes at Mount St. Mary, including Studio Art and AP Studio Art, Art Appreciation and Digital Design. She empowers and challenges her students and has shown them how art can play a part in community outreach with programs such as the Memory Project children’s portraiture and DrainSmart public art and awareness program. Her students have won first place in the national 2016 Lexus Eco Challenge competition, first place in the 2018 Thea Foundation Visual Arts Scholarship competition, and numerous awards annually from the Arkansas Young Artist Association.

Ms. Gieringer teaches 9th grade Honors English, 10th grade English and Women in Literature. Not only does she have a passion for literature but also for investing in her students by “saying yes” to support their learning and personal development. Ms. Gieringer serves as a youth leader for her church and as sponsor for MSM Student Council. Under her guidance and leadership, the student body raised record totals for the annual canned food drive in 2017, providing thousands of meals for hungry Arkansans.

Ms. Chudy teaches AP Statistics, ACT Test Preparation and Algebra 2 classes at Mount St. Mary. She encourages hard work and perseverance in the classroom and considers the relationships she forms with her students as important as the content she teaches. As Beta Club sponsor at Mount St. Mary, Ms. Chudy has increased the club’s membership and earned the school’s recognition as a National Beta Club School of Distinction, which promotes the ideals of academic achievement, character, service and leadership among high school students.

Congratulations to all of this year’s Stephens Award winners for  this incredible achievement!

Meredith Muller, MSM senior and art student, won the first place $4,000 visual arts scholarship in the Thea Foundation annual scholarship competition. Each year the program awards 30 college scholarships totaling $79,500 to Arkansas high school seniors from across the state in order to impact the lives of the state’s youth through art. Thea scholarships are matched or exceeded by more than 20 education partners in the state and the region who may additionally match up to $20,000 over four years for first-place scholarship recipients.

More than 200 high school seniors from across the state of Arkansas entered the Thea Foundation 2018 visual arts scholarship competition, and only ten were chosen as recipients of scholarships ranging from $2,000 to $4,000. This years theme was, “A visceral moment, occluded by one’s intellect.”

Meredith’s self-portrait in oil, “Polarity,” depicted the confusing and tumultuous experiences involved in the transition to adulthood. Her Artist’s Statement described the struggles many adolescents face when deciding right and wrong “in a society full of moral grey area.”

Meredith described the red light cast on most of the subject’s body as leading away from good decisions, and she explained, “The ‘visceral moment’ depicted would be to want to follow the path of least resistance and go along with the rest of the body even if it leads somewhere damaging in the end.”  While the posture and positioning demonstrated the conflict within, Meredith explained that “the head alone is straining against the rest of the body to face the blue light, which symbolizes the logic, reasoning and intellect which combat those negative forces.”
Meredith’s painting was chosen the first-place winner on Saturday, March 3, when students gathered at the Thea Foundation in downtown North Little Rock to display their work to a panel of judges. Winners were selected based on the artist statement, interpretation of theme, and the originality and design of their work.

When asked what this experience has meant to her, Meredith said, “I’m super grateful overall, not just for the judging, but for everything in general — that I’ve been able to go to a school like this, to have the foundation to get me where I can pursue these things and succeed. Ms. Nolley’s an amazing teacher, and I probably never would have been able to thrive as an artist if I hadn’t had a teacher that noticed my potential and took the time to try to grow that.”

While Meredith said her plans will incorporate art at whichever college she chooses to attend, Thea scholarships are not awarded based on a student’s intent to major in the arts nor are they limited to the visual arts alone. High school seniors skilled in performing arts, film, fashion design, creative writing and slam poetry are encouraged to apply for scholarships as well. More information about Thea scholarships can be found on the Thea Foundation website: 
https://www.theafoundation.org/scholarships.

The 2018 visual arts winning works are on display through April at the Thea Foundation in downtown North Little Rock.  Congratulations to Meredith and all of this year’s Thea scholarship recipients!

Sydney Casavechia ’18 has been honored for her exemplary volunteer service with a President’s Volunteer Service Award.

The award, which recognizes Americans of all ages who have volunteered significant amounts of their time to serve their communities and their country, was granted by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program. Mount St. Mary Academy nominated Sydney for national honors this fall in recognition of her volunteer service.

Sydney spent nearly 300 hours volunteering at Camp Aldersgate, an organization dedicated to serving individuals with special needs and senior adults in a camp environment.

“These kids have impacted me more than I have them,” Sydney said. “At first, I thought service was just ‘the act of helping others,’ but I now understand that how you apply yourself in someone’s life can actually alter your perspective and have a bigger impact on your beliefs.”

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, sponsored by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), recognizes middle level and high school students across America for outstanding volunteer service.

“The recipients of these awards demonstrate that young people across America are making remarkable contributions to the health and vitality of their communities,” said John  Strangfeld, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial. “By recognizing these students and placing a spotlight on their volunteer activities, wee hope to motivate others to consider how they can also contribute to their community.”

“Demonstrating civic responsibility through volunteerism is an important part of life,” said NASSP Executive Director JoAnn Bartoletti. “These honorees practice a lesson we hope all young people, as well as adults, will emulate.”

Prudential Spirit of Community Award applications were distributed nationwide last September through middle level and high schools, Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and Affiliates of Points of Light’s HandOn Network. These schools and officially-designated local organizations nominated Local Honorees, whose applications were advance for state-level judging. In addition to granting President’s Volunteer Service Awards, The Presidential Spirit of Community Awards selected State Honorees, Distinguished Finalists and Certificate of Excellence recipients. Volunteer activities were judged on criteria including personal initiative, creativity, effort, impact and personal growth.