The University of Florida School of Theatre + Dance (SOTD) hosted its annual closing Convocation this past Wednesday in the Constans Theatre.
Hosted by SOTD Director Jerry Dickey, this event wrapped up the year for the School of Theatre + Dance, recognized outstanding scholarship award recipients and launched the new Friends of Theatre + Dance (FOTD) Excellence in Theatre Award.
At 4:00 pm the Constans Theatre was filled with faculty and students. Dickey began the program by honoring the faculty and congratulating them on another successful academic year.
Dickey then recognized the high school students who were awarded the first ever Excellence in Theatre Award presented by FOTD. These students were given a certificate, season tickets to the upcoming SOTD season and a College of the Arts pen, which Dickey jokingly suggested be used to fill out their University of Florida application.
The end-of-year convocation is also the time to present outstanding SOTD students with scholarships, provided through the generous support of donors. This year, 50 students were recognized with scholarships as high as $1,000 for academic and performance excellence. The recipients of this year’s scholarships can be seen below.
The program closed with Professor Kevin Marshall presenting a very special award to a retiring UF professor. Professor Yanci Bukovec will be retiring from the University of Florida for his next chapter and will be greatly missed by the faculty and students.
Congratulations to all the students receiving scholarships this year:
Emily Lewis
Joseph Hodge
Tiana Alderson
Afsheen Misaghi
Andrew Leslie
Lauren Robinson
Dalton Hamilton
Natori Cummings-Hayes
Esrom Williams, Jr.
Diego Zozaya
Nicoletta Lanese
Denzel Williams
Christine Schmidt
Brittany Bennett
Matt Henao
Chaz May
Tyler Peterson
Olivia McCoy
Jacquelyn Pritz
Francesca Marcucci
Jennifer Klammer
Marival Parish
Tanagna Payne
Haley Simmons
Tim Castell
Ariel Reich
Sara Lopez
Karla Narvaez
Denzel Williams
Andrea Piazza
Chelsi Stancil
Jonathan Williams
Kristina Johnson
Amanda Hayter
Michael Krek
Saranda Kalaveshi
Matthew Bratko
Brittney Caldwell
Jeffrey Drushal
Abigail Friedman
Amanda Moore
Courtney Rogers
Amanda Resch
Alessia Salimbene
Thank you to the Friends of Theatre + Dance and all others who have graciously donated to the School of Theatre + Dance through these scholarships.
