The Hastings College Music and Theatre departments recognized outstanding student work during their end-of-the-year celebrations. Both departments awarded several traditional honors and scholarships specific to their disciplines.
The Music Department’s honors convocation took place on Monday, May 7, in Perkins Auditorium. The event featured musical performances by the Sigma Alpha Iota national women’s music fraternity and the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia national men’s music fraternity, and the singing of the Alma Mater led by Dr. Fritz Mountford. The full list of honors is as follows:
- Karli Cabrera, a senior from Pawnee City, Nebraska – Outstanding Performer Award, Hastings Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition winner
- John Carroll, a first year student from Colorado Springs, Colorado – Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Outstanding Freshman Scholarship
- Zoe Dahlgren, a sophomore from Axtell, Nebraska – Chorus of the Plains Scholarship
- Alex Dominguez, a junior from Grand Island, Nebraska – Elmer Christensen Keyboard Award
- Timothy Ellis, a sophomore from Red Cloud, Nebraska – Theodore Presser Scholar
- Ciara Figgins, a sophomore from Ayr, Nebraska – Sigma Alpha Iota Jennifer Kathleen Cady Scholarship
- Nathan Jensen, a senior from Hastings, Nebraska – James King Outstanding Band Award, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Collegiate Honor Award, Nebraska Association of Music Educators Collegiate Concert Representative, Outstanding Contributor in Music Award
- Andrew Koubek, a senior from Grand Island, Nebraska – Outstanding Senior in Music Award
- Hugo Madera, a junior from Grand Island, Nebraska – Chorus of the Plains Scholarships, Gordon L. and Mary Ohlsson Endowed Music Scholarship
- Erin Petry, a senior from Plattsmouth, Nebraska – Sigma Alpha Iota Collegiate Honor Award
- Joe Prickett, a senior from Hastings, Nebraska – Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Outstanding Sinfonian
- Melissa Reichert, a senior from Sutton, Nebraska – Millard Cates Choral Music Award, Sigma Alpha Iota Scholastic Award
- John Sample, a first year student from Colorado Springs, Colorado – Chorus of the Plains Scholarships
- Kaitlynn Schreiner, a first year student from Grand Island, Nebraska – Hastings Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition second place qualifier
- Aaron Spracklin, a senior from Elmwood, Nebraska – Chorus of the Plains Scholarship
- Brian Whetstone, a senior from Omaha, Nebraska – Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Scholastic Award
The Theatre Department presented its awards on Wednesday, May 9 during the department’s annual Beaux Arts Theatre Dinner. The evening saw the initiation of new members into the Alpha Psi Omega theater honorary and the distribution of colored masks, including the Purple Mask, which honors the artistic and academic excellence of junior and seniors from the department.
Students and alumni also honored chair of the Theatre Department, Dr. Jim Fritzler, a 1976 Hastings College graduate, who is retiring this year after 18 years of service to the College. The full list of honors is as follows:
- Greer Anderson, a sophomore from Peyton, Colorado – Runner Up for Player of the Year, Scarlet Mask
- Miranda Aschoff, a junior from Hastings, Nebraska – Purple Mask
- Emma Atuire, a senior from Denver, Colorado – Outstanding Theatre Student
- Carly Cremers, a junior from Columbus, Nebraska – Purple Mask
- Joseph Daake, a sophomore from Kearney, Nebraska – Bernard C. Tushaus Award, Scarlet Mask
- Austin Heinlein, a junior from Hutchinson, Kansas – Harold Shiffler Scholarship
- Becca Holcomb, a senior from Burr Ridge, Illinois – Purple Mask
- Joe Jahn, a sophomore from Columbus, Nebraska – Scarlet Mask
- Cheyenne Knehans, a senior from Riverton, Nebraska – Player of The Year
- Kiley Logan, a sophomore from Colorado Springs, Colorado – Scarlet Mask
- Sabrina Maxwell, a junior from North Richland Hills, Texas – Purple Mask
- Basil Rabayda, a sophomore from Phoenix, Arizona – Runner Up for Player of the Year, Lloyd S. And Helen M. Jones Scholarship, Scarlet Mask
- Grace Rempp, a senior from Hastings, Nebraska – Purple Mask
- Alex Rieflin, a junior from Doniphan, Nebraska – Lloyd S. And Helen M. Jones Scholarship
- Jeff Sokol, a first year student from Grand Island, Nebraska – Runner Up for Player of the Year, White Mask
- Aaron Spracklin, a senior from Elmwood, Nebraska – Scarlet Mask
- Randi Scoggins, a junior from Hastings, Nebraska – Lloyd S. And Helen M. Jones Scholarship, Purple Mask
- Socorro Topete, a first year student from South Sioux City, Nebraska – Alpha Psi Omega Harold Shiffler Award
Hastings College is a private, four-year institution located in Hastings, Nebraska, that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. With more than 60 majors and 15 pre-professional programs, Hastings College has been named among “Great Schools, Great Prices” by U.S. News & World Report and a “Best in the Midwest” by The Princeton Review. For more, go to hastings.edu.
