SFA’s Elliott College of Fine Arts Dean’s Circle announces 2024 award recipients

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Micky Elliott College of Fine Arts Dean's Circle at Stephen F. Austin State University will recognize six students during the presentation of the annual Dean's Awards at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 4, at The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches.

Alexandria Wooldridge, art major from East Texas; Rachel Ball, music education major from Plano; Mikaela Settle, music major from Mansfield; Zoie Dorn, theatre education major from Keller; Cameron Phillips, music education major from Katy; and Bria Collums, art (filmmaking) major from Jacinto City, were selected by the faculty of their respective schools on the basis of their potential to further develop their artistic goals and serve as role models for other students, according to Dr. Gary Wurtz, dean of the Elliott College of Fine Arts.

"The Dean's Awards were established to recognize students who are seen as models of excellence among their peers in terms of their academic accomplishments, artistic achievement and leadership qualities," Wurtz said. "What I love most about these particular awards is that the students do not apply for them. They are nominated and selected by the faculty, and then informed that they have been named the recipients, and the news is usually a complete surprise to them."

The awards were established by the Dean's Circle, an external support organization of community members founded in 2008 and dedicated, in part, to nurturing potential young artists within the College of Fine Arts, Wurtz said.

Woolridge, who will receive the Ed and Gwen Cole Memorial Dean's Award in Art, is an oil painter. With a lifelong passion for painting, her artistic journey has been shaped by her surroundings in East Texas, gothic architecture and German expressionism. Her paintings express deep emotions of pain and hurt, feelings she believes everyone endures at some point in their lives. She hopes to capture cathartic sentiment in her paintings, making them open to interpretation and expressing different stories or walks of life. When looking at schools, Alexandria was captivated by the beautiful campus at SFA and inspired by the work of professor Shaun Roberts. She describes SFA as "the perfect path for my artistic growth." Through painting, she seeks to capture the essence of her surroundings with a unique artistic vision and to immerse everyone into an unknown world of unsettling beauty.

Ball, who will receive the Dean's Circle Dean's Award in Music, minors in jazz studies. Studying bass trombone under SFA's Dr. Deb Scott, she has been a member of many music ensembles at SFA including the Wind Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, the Swingin' Axes Jazz Band, the Trombone Choir, the Trombone Octet, the Lumberjack Marching Band and the Roarin' Buzzsaws Pep Band. She also studies piano with Dr. Minhae Lee. She currently serves as operations manager for the Lumberjack Marching Band and works as an assistant in the band office. Upon graduation, she plans to be a band director in Texas and possibly attend graduate school for conducting in the future.

Originating from Mansfield, Settle, who will receive the Dr. Robert G. Sidnell Dean's Award in Music Education, is in her junior year pursuing a bachelor's degree in choral music education under the vocal mentorship of Debbie Berry. She has been active in various musical organizations including the Kantorei Choir and A Cappella Choir, as well as performing in the chorus for the 2023 opera theater production of Georges Bizet's "Carmen." Mikaela will perform the role of Olga Olsen in the 2024 production of Kurt Weill's "Street Scene." She is a recipient of the Academic Excellence Award, choral scholarships, housing scholarships, designation as a BNSF Railway Foundation Scholar and has been on the President's List. After graduation, she plans to teach choir in Texas public schools before pursuing further education, eventually teaching at the collegiate level.

Dorn, who will receive the George and Peggy Schmidbauer Dean's Award in Theatre, is a junior theatre education major from Keller. Her acting credits include Ellen in "The Actor's Nightmare," Shanti in "The Jungle Book KIDS," Chorus 3 in "The Yellow Boat," Elaine in "Now We're Really Getting Somewhere," Susan in "Emily/Emily," and 1st Actress in "A Cheever Evening." Her technical show credits include sound board operator in "Our Town," wardrobe crew in "Women Who Weave," stage manager/assistant director in "Mustard," director of "The Book of Will,' assistant choreographer in "The Jungle Book KIDS," and wardrobe crew head for "Moon Over Buffalo." She has been active in On Display Devised, Crescendo and APO theatre organizations. She plans to teach high school theatre and establish a Partners in Theatre program for Special Education students.

Phillips, who will receive the John N. and Margaret Staley Scholarship in Fine Arts, is a junior music education major earning a Bachelor of Music in music education. Born in Katy, Cameron found his passion for music education in his early high school years, and SFA had always been his school of choice. He studies voice under Dr. Scott LaGraff and music education under Drs. Claire and Michael Murphy. He is a member of the A Cappella Choir and Chamber Singers will perform the role of "Sam Kaplan" in the 2024 SFA opera production of "Street Scene." He was a member of the SFA Singin' Axes and sang the role of "Morales" in SFA's 2023 production of Bizet's "Carmen." Cameron has maintained an Academic Excellence scholarship for three years and appeared multiple times on the Dean's List. He is a choral scholarship recipient in the School of Music and is a member of the Texas Choral Directors Association and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America. He plans to teach in Houston-area public schools and hopes to earn a master's degree in choral conducting.

Collums, who will receive the Ruth Buzzi Honorary Dean's Award in Filmmaking, is a first-generation junior from Jacinto City. She transferred from San Jacinto Community College to SFA in the fall of 2022 to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts in filmmaking. She has always had a passion for the art of filmmaking and a desire to bring her creative visions to life. Her love for the fine arts started when she became a stage manager in her high school's theatre program. She is currently working on her latest short film "These Four Walls," which she wrote, directed and edited. The inspiration for her works involve real-world experiences to which she believes those around her can relate. Since joining SFA's filmmaking program, she has met and had the pleasure of working with so many amazing and creative people, and she is looking forward to working on the upcoming summer feature film.

The student awards are made possible because the Dean's Circle believes in investing in the future, and members are willing to contribute and raise the money needed to fund these individual awards each year, Wurtz said. For more information about the Dean's Circle, contact Wurtz at [email protected] or (936) 468-2801.