Spartanburg-area high school seniors awarded scholarships to pursue arts degrees
Kaleb Michael Dill of Landrum and Thaddeus John Troxell of Boiling Springs have been awarded $1,000 scholarships by The Mary Wheeler Davis Memorial Fund for the Promotion of the Arts. This annual scholarship program is administered by the Chapman Cultural Center, and the fund is held by The Spartanburg County Foundation.
Each year, one or more $1,000 scholarships are awarded to students pursuing college degrees in the visual or performing arts. Selection is based on character, financial need, and artistic potential. The scholarships are awarded based on the recommendations of a panel of community leaders with interest and expertise in the visual and performing arts. Established in 1989, the scholarship honors the memory of Mary Wheeler Davis, a local community leader who was involved in many Spartanburg arts organizations. Davis was a native of Charleston and the wife of Dr. William McAlhany Davis.
Dill is a senior at Landrum High School and plans to attend the College of Charleston to major in studio art with a concentration in photography. Eventually, he hopes to open his own photography business in Spartanburg. Dill’s accomplishments include a first-place award in the Spartanburg Soil and Water Conservation photography competition for the past three years and the 2015 Spartanburg District One Milliken Art Award. In addition, one of his photographs will be published this fall in Photographer’s Forum Magazine in a showcase of national high school and college students’ photography. Dill’s work has been exhibited in the Wofford College Sandor Teszler Library Glendale Shoals Photography Gallery, the S.C. Wildlife Harry Hampton Photography Gallery, the Focus on Youth Juried Show at Chapman Cultural Center, Upstate High School Art Exhibit at Greenville Technical College, Evening of Excellence at Tryon Fine Arts Center, Milliken Art Gallery, and the Congressional Art Show.
Troxell is a senior at Boiling Spring High School and plans to major in either illustration or graphic design. He will attend Winthrop University with plans to transfer to Savannah College of Art and Design his sophomore year. His mediums include pencil, digital, ceramics, and screen-printing. He would like to design movie posters or album covers of his favorite musical artists. His work has been included in the Boiling Springs High School Literary Magazine and at Gallery East in Spartanburg. This summer, he is the graphics manager for Fine Arts Day Camp at Converse College and is also managing the camp’s social media sites. His private art teacher is Bailie of Spartanburg. He has also participated in live theatre, marching band, and symphonic band, and will join the open mic club and radio station at Winthrop.
“Both of these young men are exceptional in their creativity,” Chapman’s Arts Education Director Ava Hughes said. “In looking at their work, I know they will go far in their careers, and it is my hope that this scholarship will make their educational journeys a little more secure. I believe Mary Wheeler Davis would be very proud to know she is being a part of these young men’s success.”
Applications to this scholarship program are due in April each year. For more information, contact Hughes at (864) 278-9693.
Image, left to right: works by Dill and Troxell