by Jane Schaefer
Harwood. What comes to your mind when you think about it? Probably learning. But what about the students. In particular, how about the students who have won something? Or the students who were given a scholarship because of their passion? Or maybe even a trip to Connecticut to participate in an event that is an immense honor to be a part of? Well, all of that has happened to students in this school year alone.
Molly Caffry, a junior at Harwood, was awarded the Composition Scholarship. Caffry is a trombone player in the high school band. She sent in a composition piece she wrote called “Retrouvaille”. It is a piano piece that the All-State Composition Panel reviewed. She got a scholarship of a couple hundred dollars and recognition at the All-State Festival. “It feels great, especially because I was not expecting it at all. At most I thought it would be played at Harwood but I definitely did not expect state credit for the song,” she says.
Wanda Sullivan is a senior. She is a choral student and has been in the school musicals since she was in 8th grade. This year she was Katherine in the high school musical, Freaky Friday.
She was awarded the Vermont All-State Vocal Scholarship. Every year the ACDA, American Choral Directors Association, chooses a senior who is planning to go to school for music performance or music education. The student chosen is given a scholarship of $500.00. Congratulations to Wanda Sullivan for being this year’s VT All-State Vocal Scholarship recipient!
NEMFA, New England Music Festival Association, is a festival in Connecticut for talented high school students in New England to come together to perform solos and group concerts. The way students are chosen is they send an audition-type video to a panel of judges who gives them a score. If the score is above a number the panelists chose, they go to NEMFA. This year the attendants from Harwood were chorus students Abby Holter, Annie McMillion, and Wanda Sullivan. The band student chosen was Estella Peterson.
There has been much talk about achievements in the HU music department. But what about sports? Ava Thurston is a senior here at Harwood. She was named Vermont Girls Gatorade Cross Country Runner of the Year. On top of that, in March she won multiple races in the Junior Nordic Nationals in Minnesota. “Junior Nationals was an awesome experience for me, and I enjoyed getting to represent Vermont and New England alongside my friends and teammates,” says Thurston.
Harwood may be a small school, but there have been big accomplishments among our many talented students.