Twenty-two graduating seniors honored at Arts Signing Day
NEW PHILADELPHIA (WJER) (May 1, 2023) – The Tuscarawas County Arts Partnership got to honor another batch of graduating seniors at its largest Signing Day to date.
The organization celebrated 22 students planning to major or minor in an art-related field with a ceremony at the Performing Arts Center last Tuesday. Executive Director Wilma Mullet says that’s about twice as many honorees as the last one in 2022 and a sign that more and more kids are starting to recognize the arts as a legitimate career path.
“Which is really wonderful. It just goes to show that we have this wave of a generation that’s coming up and coming through our Tuscarawas County school districts that are pursuing those educational opportunities and careers in the arts.”
She says there was a wide range of interests among this year’s participants, from visual, performing, and culinary arts to interior design and animation.
“The arts whether it’s visual or performing or applied or anything, it’s interwoven in our everyday lives, and there are so many careers where you can find that overlap. What these students are seeing is like culinary arts, that’s a form where you get to tap into the sense of taste more than anything and also that visual representation as well… There’s also art therapy where you can minor in art or music but then you can study psychology and a person’s mind to help them through trauma and healing.”
The following students were recognized during last week’s Signing Day:
Buckeye Career Center
● Dominic Colantonio – Graphic Design at Muskingum University
● Jordan Eick – Animation Game Design at Kent State University, Tuscarawas Campus
Claymont High School
● Naomi Hallman – Resort and Attraction Management at Bowling Green State University
Dover High School
● Damaris Avery – Psychology, Minor in Film and Media Studies at the University of
Cincinnati
● Brianna Best – Music Education at the University of Akron
● Aslyn Fannin – Music Production and Recording, Minor in Film at Ohio University
● Belle Fockler – Musical Theatre, Minor in Dance at Ohio Northern University
● Sidney Garrett – Music Education at Ohio University
● Josh Haverfield – Music Education and Performance at Evansville University
● Alyssa Renicker – Pastry Arts at The Culinary Institute of America
● Abigail Zeedyk – Medical Laboratory Science, Minors in Music and Dance at Kent State
University, Stark and Main Campus
Garaway High School
● Cameron Bush – Food Business Management at CIA
● Gracyn Stutzman – Graphic Design and Photography at Columbus College of Art and
Design
Indian Valley High School
● Mariah Abel – Music Education at Muskingum University
● Krista Bair – Computer Science, Minor in Music at Case Western Reserve University
● Zoe Florence – Psychology, Minors in Music, Art History and Visual Culture at Otterbein
University
● Emily Lewis – Music Business and Industry at West Virginia University
● Marlee Shepherd – Communicative Design at Miami University
● Chloe Wells – Interior Design at Kent State University
New Philadelphia High School
● Nathaniel Demuth – Graphic Design at Marietta College
● Jacob Roman-Willey – Music Education at Kent State University
Tuscarawas Valley High School
● Corrine Hamilton- 2D Animation at Savannah College of Art and Design
TAP also presented its 2023 Arts Educator of the Year Award to Indian Valley’s Melanie Glazer. Mullet says their education committee chose Glazer over 11 other potential honorees based on nomination letters from students and others in the community, although it wasn’t an easy decision.
“It was hard because everyone had such phenomenal nominations, and it does become hard to narrow down. We’ve even had conversations of having multiple awards for future years now because it’s hard to choose one.”
Glazer teaches drama at Indian Valley High School where she also leads the color guard and directs the concert choir. The other Art Educator of the Year nominees were:
● Aubrey Gealsha – Buckeye Career Center
● Carrie Kunkle – Claymont
● April Linard – Claymont
● Nicole Miles – Claymont School District
● James Graves – Dover
● Chris Redd – Dover
● Krista Prucha – New Philadelphia
● Christa Roberts – New Philadelphia
● Hope Haney – Strasburg-Franklin
● Diane Richardson – Tusky Valley