SMHS students awarded $2,250 in fine arts scholarships

On April 24, three high school seniors from San Marcos High School were awarded a total of $2,250 by the San Marcos Art League to support their pursuits of higher education in the Fine Arts. Recipients included Alfredo Castro-Rosa, Hayley Cheatham and Jillian Botello. Castro-Rosa will be pursuing a degree in Digital Visualization at the College of Architecture at Texas A&M University; Cheatham will pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance with Teaching Certification at Texas State University; and Botello will be pursuing a degree in Theatre Education at Texas State University.

Each year, the San Marcos Art League awards this scholarship to high school seniors living in San Marcos or attending San Marcos High School who wish to pursue a degree in the Fine Arts. Current Art League president, Gerald Kurten, shares the importance of keeping the arts alive in higher education.

“The scholarship is important to me because creativity and its pursuit is one of the highest aspirations of humanity. Whether art, science or farming or any other pursuit, it’s creativity that leads to new thought and awareness which are crucial to humanity’s growth and future. Choosing art as future may not be the most direct path to riches, which society most values, but these young people have demonstrated that potential for creativity that could one day change the world. As a former scientist, now turned artist, I have always been inspired by Leonardo da Vinci, the greatest of all the artist-scientists, who once wrote, ‘To develop a complete mind: Study the science of art; Study the art of science,’” Kurten said.

This scholarship opens up to applicants in the winter and can be found at artleaguesmtx.org. For any questions regarding the scholarship, feel free to contact info@artleaguesmtx.org