Thea Foundation Awards All 36 Annual Scholarships During Pandemic

Thea’s annual scholarships remain a great resource for helping young people across the state receive financial help for higher education. Each of the six arts-based competitions provide Arkansas seniors with an opportunity to find money for college based on their talent alone. Our first scholarship was awarded in 2002, and we’ve awarded more than $2.3 million in scholarships to Arkansas students since then. During the 2020 scholarship season, we quickly adapted our two largest scholarship competitions to be online-only due to competition days typically being held in-person. Additionally, we extended deadlines to accommodate students. Even with these changes in place, we received over 100 entries from students across the state for each competition in performing arts and visual arts.

At this time, we are proud to share a complete list of all of this year's 36 scholarship-winning Arkansas seniors. We know this time is so unique for seniors finishing their final weeks of high school without big events like graduation, but we know the future is bright for these incredibly talented students we are honored to support. A strong majority of Thea’s scholarships are endowed. ​For those that are, the name(s) or organization attributed with the endowment are listed above the scholarships.

Visual Arts Winners

Thea Foundation Board Scholarship

Mary Katherine Dennis - 1st place, $4,000 (pictured above)

Har-Ber High School 

Windgate Foundation Scholarship

Courtney Curry - 2nd place, $3,500

Pottsville High School

Robyn Horn, Dede & Karen Hutcheson Scholarship

Kaitlin Brannon - 3rd place, $3,000

North Little Rock  High School

Autumn Blaylock - 4th place, $2,500

Fayetteville High School East

Robin Orsi Family Scholarship

Morgan Ison - 5th place, $2,000

Little Rock Center of Excellence

Olds Foundation Scholarship

Addy Brymer - 6th place, $2,000

Homeschooled

Janet & Glenn Davis Scholarship

McKenzie Horton - 7th place, $2,000

Pottsville High School

Munro Foundation Scholarship

Cassie Jankowski - 8th place, $2,000

Homeschooled

Murphy USA Scholarship

Olivia Falcon - 9th place, $2,000

Mount Saint Mary Academy

Rita Curtis Memorial Scholarship

Kaysie Wilson - 10th place, $2,000

Jonesboro High School 

Performing Arts Winners

Clinton Family Foundation Scholarship

Mary Jane McConnell - 1st Place, $4,000 (pictured above)

Fayetteville  High School

Linda & Paul Leopoulos Scholarship

Brennon Humphry - 2nd place, $3,500

Bryant High School

Hammonds/McDonald Scholarship

Emma Tedder - 3rd place, $3,000

Pulaski Academy

Charles A. Frueauff Scholarship

Lennon Richison - 4th place, $2,500

Bentonville West High School

Lawrence Hamilton Memorial Scholarship

Dax Driggs - 5th place, $2,000

Alma High School

Lindsey Robison East Memorial Scholarship

Hayley Mitchell - 6th place, $2,000

Hot Springs World Class High School

Charles Louis Cabe Jr. Memorial Scholarship

Evan Moore - 7th place, $2,000

Catholic High School for Boys

Heflin Family Foundation Scholarship

Abigail Pappas - 8th place, $2,000

Rogers Heritage High School 

Wesley K. Clark, II Scholarship

Savannah Halter - 9th place, $2,000

Arkansas Connections Academy 

Robert T. & Elizabeth W. Seibert Scholarship

Tara Shaffer - 10th place, $2,000

Bentonville High School

Slam Poetry Winners

India Harper - 1st place, $4,000 (pictured above)

North Little Rock High School

Segovia Lucas - 2nd place, $3,500

Little Rock Central High School 

Vanessa Washington - 3rd place, $3,000

Little Rock Central High School

Unzila Cheema - 4th place, $2,500

Conway High School

Victory Jackson - 5th place, $2,000

Little Rock Central High School


Creative Writing Winners

Elizabeth Wilkinson Scholarship

Ingrid Christensen - 1st place, $4,000 (pictured above)

Russellville High School

Dr. Ben Meade & Jane Hunt Scholarship

Emma Smith - 2nd place, $3,500

Homeschooled

Dena Reynolds Memorial Scholarship

Malaika Johnson - 3rd place, $3,000

Bentonville High School

Maitlyn Harrison - 4th place, $2,500

Abundant Life Christian Academy 

Mary Baledge - 5th place, $2,000

Har-Ber High School

Fashion Design Winners

Jeanne McNeill Johansson Scholarship

Emely Truong - 1st place, $4,000 (pictured above on the left)

Searcy High School 

John Bailey Scholarship

Nakayla Pennington - 2nd place, $3,500

North Little Rock Center of Excellence 

Film Winners

Note: All film scholarship are placed at the same level, receiving the same amount in scholarship money. All four winners are picture above.

Dorothy and Walter Morris Foundation Scholarship

Rayleigh House - 1st Runner Up - Cinematography, $2,500

Wynne High School

Kye-Yak International Scholarship

Madison Esteves - Directing, $2,500

Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts

Natalie and Win Rockefeller Scholarship

Victoria Roach - Cinematography, $2,500

Little Rock Christian Academy 

Sophia Mammarelli - Editing, $2,500

Mount St. Mary Academy

Thea Foundation would like to sincerely thank all of the professionals who served as this year's judges for our competition season.