Nixa High School journalists win award for Wingspan magazine
Golf tourney supports autism program
The Arc of the Ozarks will host its first Charity Golf Tournament at Rivercut Golf Course on May 20. All funds raised from the event will benefit The Arc of the Ozarks Autism and Neurodevelopmental Center. Proceeds from the event will support individuals with autism and other neurological disorders in southwest Missouri.
With 60 years of commitment to developing programs that support individuals with autism and developmental disabilities, The Arc of the Ozarks’ new Autism and Neurodevelopmental Center offers a family-centered approach and coordinated comprehensive care in one location. Patients receive diagnostic evaluations, counseling, therapies, psychiatric services, medication management, Applied Behavior Analysis, and more.
As always, financial resources are crucial in ensuring these vital services are accessible to those in need. These funds come from a variety of sources including special projects and events such as this organized by our dedicated volunteers and staff members.
Opportunities for sponsorship are available.
For more details on registration or sponsorship opportunities, contact Michele Fields at 417-874-1955.
Nixa student succeeds in welding competition
Nixa student Jesse College placed ninth in welding at the Missouri Welding Institute’s Annual Welding Competition.
College competed against 276 students competing in the high school division. The competition draws welding students from 15-20 states.
In the past four years Nixa has competed, a Missouri student has not placed in the top 10. Students must be a senior in high school and can only participate once in this competition. Students have a set time frame to complete specific welds or they will be disqualified. Only about 1030% of the competitors will even make it to judging.
Drury students named Fulbright Semi-Finalists
Five Drury students have been recommended by the National Screening Committee to become Fulbright Semi-Finalists.
The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected based on academic and professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields.
The five students are Griffin Hirst, Jeremiah Jones, Megan Parsley, Abby Robertson, and Olivia Scheberle. Hirst will go to the Slovak Republic, Jones to Estonia, Parsley to Greece.Robertson to Spain, and Scheberle to the Canary Islands.
Each student’s essay and multi-page application will be sent on to their host country for final review and selection in April.
Two Drury students, Jack Corp and Destany L’Heureux, are currently in Taiwan and Ferrol, Spain, respectively as
Fulbright finalists.
Springfield’s Hufft first female CEO at Unbound
Nonprofit Unbound has announced that Springfield native Ashley Hufft has been selected as its president and chief executive officer. Hufft is the first woman to serve as president and CEO in the organization’s nearly 43-year history.
Hufft grew up in the Springfield area, graduating from Glendale High School. She received her B.A., summa cum laude, in anthropology from Harvard College, and her J.D. from Harvard Law School, where she was a member of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau. She’s a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
Hufft worked on large-scale development projects throughout sub-Saharan Africa before finding her way to Unbound. She had been serving as Unbound’s interim president and CEO since August 2023.
Unbound is an international nonprofit, based in Kansas City that delivers more than $100 million in personalized support annually for children, elders and their families living in poverty in Latin America, Asia and Africa.
To learn more about Unbound and sponsorships, visit www.Unbound.org.
Junior League accepting scholarship applications
The Junior League of Springfield is accepting applications for its Founders Fund Scholarship. This $1,000 scholarship opportunity is designed to support and empower women graduating from high school, in their pursuit of higher education.
The scholarship is open to all graduating high school senior women residing in Springfield who demonstrate academic excellence, leadership potential, and a commitment to community service. Applicants must submit an essay outlining their educational and career goals, as well as how they have contributed to their community.
Applications for the Founders Fund Scholarship will be accepted until March 31. The recipient will be selected by a committee of Junior League members based on the strength of their application, academic achievements, volunteer history, and extracurricular involvement.
For more information about the Founders Fund Scholarship and to access the application, visit the JLS.org website. Eligibility details can be found at JLSpringfield.org.
Individual artist fellowships available
Applications are open now for MidAmerica Arts Alliance’s Interchange, a program empowering individual artists dedicated to fostering social change in their communities.
Made possible by the Mellon Foundation, this initiative will award $25,000 practice-based fellowships to 16 regional artists. Individual artists residing in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas are invited to apply.
These practice-based grants are not specific to one art project, but rather to the artist’s overall creative practice, acknowledging the importance of experimentation, exploration, and the artistic process.
For comprehensive application guidelines and to submit an application, visit https://interchangeartistgrant.art/apply/. The application deadline is 5 p.m. April 15. A free information session will be held virtually 12-1 p.m. March 14.
Nixa High School’s student-produced news magazine, Wingspan, and its related website, NixaJournalism.net, earned a Silver Medalist award from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association for its 2022-23 publications.
“The staff of Wingspan may be small, but it’s mighty,” one of the judges critiqued. “Thanks to the eye-catching covers, we couldn’t wait to flip through each issue of Wingspan and click through each vertical on the website. We are impressed by the range of stories, from news features to profiles to contemporary issues.”
CSPA was founded in 1925 for the purpose of bringing together student journalists and their faculty advisers from different schools around the country to exchange ideas, support each other, and to engage in shared learning. The association is owned and operated by Columbia University.
The Silver Medalist award is based on coverage completed during the 2022-23 school year.
The 2022-23 Wingspan staff members included 2023 graduates Lydia Cheek, Arabella Cosgrove, Eli Dean, Justice Jones and Joanna Petinaris;
The Silver Medalist award is based on coverage completed during the 2022-23 school year.
juniors Grace Dillard, Hailey Deluca-Bolin, Olivia Hartman, Emma Jelinek and Kyleigh Nielson; and seniors Maddie McCrea, Deliliah Neff, Paige Oyler and Kaitlyn Witts.
The Columbia Scholastic Press Association, a department of Columbia University in New York City, was established in 1925 to help improve student publications. Student newspapers, yearbooks and magazines, both print and digital, enroll in the CSPA as members. The major service to members is an annual evaluation of each member’s published issues during the prior school year.
All public actions entered in the annual critique receive a placing based on scores. Gold medalists receive 800-1,000 points, Silver Medalists 600-799 points, and Bronze Medalists below 600 points. Wingspan received a total score of 742.17.
The full critique is available at https://drive.google.com/file/ d/1dRo2XqF9xEXmBKboZ_1HuOzuSZUNWRHN/view.