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ACT announces community scholarship winners

Six awards were handed out to graduating SD42 students
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The ACT Arts Centre has presented a number of scholarships to local residents. (Special to The News)

The ACT Arts Centre announced their annual scholarship awards in support of the artistic aspirations of students in the community.

The awards ranged between $1,000 and $1,500 and have been handed out by the arts centre for more than 20 years to graduating students in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows.

Brontë Sobotka from Meadowridge School and Leah Del Pino Cuevas from Thomas Haney secondary were awarded the Visual and Media Arts Scholarship, J. Waterman of Maple Ridge secondary was awarded the Literary Scholarship, Alanah Ellsworth of Maple Ridge secondary and Tim Ro of Garibaldi secondary were awarded the ACT Arts Council Scholarship in Music in memory of Judith Bergthorson, and Joshua Kurucz of Maple Ridge secondary was awarded the ACT Arts Council Scholarship in Theatre in memory of Amy Wallis.

This year there were 18 applicants. Winners must be continuing their education in the arts in the discipline they applied for the scholarship in.

Ro will be attending Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA.

“I am grateful for this scholarship and can’t wait to start at Berklee [College of Music, Boston] this fall knowing I have the support of the community, my friends and family. Thank you to The ACT and everyone who made my dreams possible,” he said.

Ellsworth, who will be using the scholarship money to follow her dreams at the University of British Columbia’s School of Music and Waterman, who plans on pursuing her studies at Simon Fraser University in the fall, are also grateful for the scholarships.

The scholarship awards were handed out by the ACT Arts Centre Scholarship Committee of the Board of Directors including Susan Chambers, Brad Tones, Laura Butler, Kim Dumore, along with ACT Arts Centre executive director Curtis Pendleton.

“It’s invigorating and inspirational seeing the talent of our youth. I’m proud to meet all the applicants, knowing how hard they work for their art,” said committee member Susan Chambers.

“It is always an honour for the Arts Council to be able to give scholarships to several deserving and talented youth in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows. Every year we are astounded by the caliber of talent demonstrated by these recipients. We wish them well as they pursue their passion for the Arts in their post-secondary endeavours,” ACT Arts council board president Dawn Flanagan noted.

Lori Ceaser with the ACT said it was a difficult decision for the committee this year.

“We’d like to see more students applying each year,” said Ceaser, adding that students who either live or attend school in either community are welcome to apply.

The ACT Arts Centre is operated by the Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows Arts Council, a non-profit charitable society serving the community since 1971, that offers arts and cultural opportunities and experiences through artistic and educational programming, customer, and community service.

More than 70,000 people attend programs at the centre annually.



Colleen Flanagan

About the Author: Colleen Flanagan

I got my start with Black Press Media in 2003 as a photojournalist.
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