Meet the recipients of the 2011 scholarships!

Kathryn Karipides Scholarship Winner

Rachel Stoneking

Rachel Stoneking is a dancer and choreographer currently pursuing her Master of Fine Arts Degree in Contemporary Dance from Case Western Reserve University.
In addition to her pursuits as a dancer, Ms. Stoneking received a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from CWRU in 2009.

Ms. Stoneking is intrigued by the expressive power and liberation cultivated through the Gaga technique and looks forward to being exposed to the rich cultural and religious history of Israel. This opportunity will certainly provide an unfathomable contribution towards the development of her Thesis work for the Spring of 2012.

John Paul Miller Scholarship Winner

Michaela Lynch

This fall I will begin my senior year at CIA where I major in T.I.M.E. Digital Arts and minor in Fiber & Material Studies. I use animation as a way to synthesize the different media I use. Focusing on stop motion with an interest in the tactile quality of materials, I am able to weave together pre-existing narratives and fragmented memories. My work is currently investigating the commodification of memory and the value of sentiment, an interest sparked by growing up in the deteriorating economy of metro Detroit. 

After graduation, I hope I can make a living making things, enough to fund my own animations to submit to film festivals. I would also like to do animation workshops with kids, teaching them about stop motion, which I will be doing at an inner city school throughout the fall semester. I have been doing stop motions with my (soon to be) five year old sister since she was 2, and I was so inspired by that moment when she “got it,” that I want to bring that to more kids.

2011 Klaus Roy Scholarship Winner

Christian Townsend

My name is Christian Townsend and I am a senior at the Cleveland School of Arts. I have attended the Cleveland School of Arts for 6 years.  I major in orchestra and I have been playing the viola for seven years. I also participated in dance, drumline, vocal, and spoken word at the All City Arts program. My first musical was the 10th anniversary All City Musical A DECADE OF DREAMS and I had a lead role in FAME. I invest my time wisely into performing arts.

I have so much passion for the art of music. I remember when I was younger my uncle used to take me to the recording studio and I would sit and watch him do what he loves to do. Being around him made me realize what I wanted to do in life. My everyday life is surrounded by different genres of music. The first time I heard someone play a string instrument, I fell in love with that unique sound. When I first started playing the viola I was scared and shy, but I had to realize that it takes time to really understand that type of instrument.

Over the years I learned to trust myself and I was always told to sing through my viola. Playing the viola has brought me a plethora of opportunities that are opening doors for my future.  As you can see, music is my everything and getting this scholarship would help open other doors to my future because having my own instrument would mean everything to me. This will definitely help me on my path of becoming a well-known musician.

Literature Scholarship Winner

Nina Kidd

Nina Kidd is an undergraduate student at Cleveland State University majoring in English. Nina is also an English Leader/tutor in the Structured Learning Assistance program at Cleveland State University. She earned an Associate of Arts degree from Cuyahoga Community College prior to attending Cleveland State University.

Recently Nina experienced the pleasure of opening her own greeting card company Intense Endearments, which in her opinion is the perfect unification of her artistic and linguistic creativity. Nina also enjoys playing the piano for which she has been classically trained since age five. Nina is very grateful, and appreciative of this award.