The Hastings College Department of Music and Theatre recognized outstanding student work during the 2023-24 academic year by awarding several traditional honors specific to their disciplines in recent weeks.
As part of the annual Beaux Arts Awards on May 9, Hastings College Theatre honored nine students and inducted three new members into the Alpha Psi Omega theatre honorary.
As part of the event, Alpha Psi Omega distributed colored masks. The White Mask is given to recognize contributions of a first year student of theatre, the Scarlet Mask is open to all students who have participated in the theatre for two seasons and the Purple Mask is open to any theatre student at the end of their junior year who has at least a 3.6 overall grade point average, high artistic achievement in theatre and meritorious service to college theatre.
Theatre students honored include:
- Morgan Ashcraft of Limon, Colorado — White Mask
- Max Blankenship of Queen Creek, Arizona — Player of the Year, Scarlet Mask, Shiffler Accolade (awarded at Celebration of Excellence Convocation)
- Aynsley Brink of La Vista, Nebraska — Purple Mask
- Maggie deFreese of Holdrege, Nebraska — Lloyd S. and Helen M. Jones Accolade (awarded at Celebration of Excellence Convocation)
- Maddie Kamler of Shickley, Nebraska — Scarlet Mask
- Lindsey Pratt of Denver, Colorado — Bernard C. Tushaus Award, Scarlet Mask
- Maggie Price of Bellevue, Nebraska — Outstanding Theatre Student Award
- Noah Sullivan of Centennial, Colorado — Purple Mask
Students inducted into Alpha Psi Omega include:
- Max Blankenship of Queen Creek, Arizona
- Janison Majors of Superior, Nebraska
- Noah Sullivan of Centennial, Colorado
Hastings College Music awards were announced at the Music Finale Extravaganza on April 28. Hastings College Music recognized the work of 17 students for the year.
Those receiving awards include:
- Jake Darling of Omaha, Nebraska — Nebraska Intercollegiate Honor Band Participant
- Maggie deFreese of Holdrege, Nebraska — Nebraska Intercollegiate Honor Band Participant
- Kendall Greene of Colorado Springs, Colorado — Sigma Alpha Iota Sword of Honor Award, Sigma Alpha Iota Collegiate Honor Award, Hastings College Outstanding Senior in Music (awarded at Celebration of Excellence)
- Wyatt Kohles of Grand Island, Nebraska — Gordon L. and Mary Ohlsson Music Award, Outstanding Contributor in Music
- Karl Ludwig of La Junta, Colorado — Nebraska Intercollegiate Honor Band Participant
- Morgan O’Neill of Cheyenne, Wyoming — Sigma Alpha Iota Collegiate Honor Award and Sigma Alpha Iota Sword of Honor Award
- Carter Pursley of Aurora, Nebraska — Gordon L. and Mary Ohlsson Music Award – Voice
- Maria Pytlik of Brainard, Nebraska — Nebraska Intercollegiate Honor Band Participant, Outstanding Performer in Music (awarded at Celebration of Excellence)
- Erick Rodriguez of Grand Island, Nebraska — James King Outstanding Bandsman Award, Elmer Christensen Award and NAfME State Convention Collegiate Recital Participant
- Dylan Shaw of Colorado Springs, Colorado — Hastings Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition Winner
- Ally Stratton of Omaha, Nebraska — Sigma Alpha Iota Sword of Honor Award
- Sarah Sutton of Cheyenne, Wyoming — Millard Cates Choral Music award, Sigma Alpha Iota Sword of Honor Award, runner-up for the Hastings Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition
- Hope Uhing of Malvern, Iowa — Sigma Alpha Iota Scholastic Award
- Caspian Weeden of Pueblo, Colorado — Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia “Freshman Scholarship”
- Venn Wood of Lincoln, Nebraska — Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia “Outstanding Sinfonian”
- Anna Zentz of Grand Island, Nebraska — Nebraska Intercollegiate Honor Band Participant
Hastings College is a four-year residential college that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. Discover more at hastings.edu.
