New scholarships honour RSA faculty

By Laureen F. Guenther Times Contributor

scholarships given by or in honour of faculty members.
The Jeany Van Meltebeke Award was established by former student Dale Clark (RSA Diploma 2017) in honour of faculty member Van Meltebeke, for a student who uses theatre to present the Gospel of Christ. Shayleigh Sihlis received it.
“It’s not some strangers I’m receiving this from,” Sihlis said. “It’s people that I already know and that have invested in me for years now, both the donor and the namesake of the award. So that meant a lot to me.”
Dale Clark said she established the scholarship because of the impact on her when she received an RSA scholarship.
“It’s a very encouraging thing to get a scholarship,” she said. “It’s still significant to me. I still have the little certificate. (It means) somebody believed in you. I want to give back the way it impacted me.”
Van Meltebeke taught the first-year drama ministry class.
“If this scholarship is about what I love about drama ministry and what I hope students would take away, which is permission and ingenuity to bring something … into a new light,” said Van Meltebeke, “then I am so proud. It will encourage other creatives to work from their core value, find that voice and make original art.”
Current and former RSA faculty announced three other new scholarships.
Leah T. Hearne established the James Russell Hearne Memorial Scholarship in honour of her father, who passed away in 2018. It’s for an RSA student who loves literature, has a grounded faith and accepts others’ spiritual journeys. Joel Braun received it.
Trisha and Mark Lewandowski established the Lewandowski Supportive Artist Award for an FRSA candidate who supports other artists while pursuing their own artistic goals. It was awarded to Heidi MacDonald.
Randall Wiebe established the David and Myrtle Wiebe Writing Scholarship in honour of his parents, who once worked as RSA staff. It is awarded for excellence in writing and was awarded to Koayla Cormack.
More than 40 other scholarships, awards and bursaries were also presented at the ceremony.
Seven students graduated with the one-year Certificate of Theatre Foundations. Nine students received two-year diplomas, and seven students graduated from the four-year program as Fellows of Rosebud School of the Arts (FRSAs).