Tampa Bay BCA – Charlie Hounchell Art Stars Scholarship
2024 Scholarships Have Been Awarded
Meet all of our 2024 Art Stars Honorees
Tampa Bay BCA annually awards six or more scholarships to Tampa Bay area high school students with exceptional talents in instrumental and vocal music, theater, dance, visual and literary arts. The program was founded in 2008 by the late Charlie Hounchell, a former president of Tampa Bay BCA. It was later renamed in his honor. Tampa Bay BCA has awarded over $240,000 in financial tuition assistance to more than 90 Tampa Bay area students, the majority from public high schools.
This year, thanks to a grant from Suncoast Credit Union Foundation, the scholarship will have even more impact. The foundation prioritizes three primary areas of need: education, health and emotional well-being of children in our communities. Funding received from the credit union will support the costs associated with providing scholarship to high school students to offset the cost of higher education tuition.
See below to view the talent showcase and learn about the 2023 Charlie Hounchell Art Stars Scholarship laureates and judges.
Meet Past Charlie Hounchell Art Stars
Alana Hogan – 2023 Theater winner
Alana is a member of the Gibbs High School Class of 2023 and has been cultivating her passion for theatre since her early years. She received her training from notable instructors such as Nick Orfanella, Caroline Carter, and Trish Grunz. Alana takes weekly acting lessons with Nick Orfanella at Tota Music and Theatre Conservatory, where she has been learning from him for the past six years. In addition to being coached on monologues in her lessons, she has also been cast in his shows. Most recently, she played Julia Sullivan in The Wedding Singer, where she had the opportunity to work with him one-on-one. During her school day, Alana also takes acting classes at the Pinellas County Center for the Arts, where she studies various acting techniques, such as Uta Hagen and Laban movement. She also receives hand-picked monologues and scenes to help her prepare for college auditions.
Alana is a member of the National Honors Society, Thespian Honors Society, and Mu Alpha Theta Honors Society. She is also a member of the Ambassadors of Sound at Tota Conservatory and has received Critics Choice awards for her solo dance and portrayal of Best Actress in a One-Act. In October 2022, she was chosen as Ambassador of the Month, and after being inducted as a member of the NHS in August of 2022, she was elected vice president. She has also served as the publicist for the past year, where she helped promote the school’s honors society and various performance and volunteer hour opportunities. Additionally, she serves as the dance captain, helps choreograph various numbers, and teaches choreography to younger students.
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2024 Judge: Eugenie Bondurant‘s long and slightly eccentric career has taken her from the runways of New York and Paris to featured roles in film and television, including her breakout role as the feminine and feline cult icon “Tigris” in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2. In Fear of Rain alongside Harry Connick Jr. and Madison Iseman, Bondurant received high praise for her role as Dani McConnell. The Artful Critic said “Eugenie Bondurant might make the most impression” and The Guardian stating “Bondurant’s creepy performance is the highlight of the film.” After test screening audiences demanded “More Eugenie,” her role as Isla, the Occultist in The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (with Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) was expanded. The critics also loved her as the film’s evil antagonist – “Bondurant completely steals the show…” and “The Occultist…works thanks to the performance of Eugenie Bondurant.” As the Occultist, she scared the award-winning fashion designer behind Balenciaga so much, Demna demanded she come to Paris to walk in his 2021 fall show. She continues to work for the famous fashion house, with three shows booked in 2022. After a long break from modeling, she is currently represented by the prestigious NEXT Agency for all fashion work. Recent film and TV credits include the new AMC series Interview With The Vampire, leading roles in a NDA Marvel horror project due Halloween 2022 and the indie film 115 Grains. Eugenie is also a professional cabaret artist and acting coach at her Station 12.
Kennedy Engasser – 2023 Literary Arts Winner
Kennedy Engasser is a talented, accomplished high school student from Pasco County, Florida. Currently, in her senior year at Land’O’Lakes High School, Kennedy is a dedicated member of several school clubs, including the Poetry Club, Thespians Club, Growhouse Poetry Collective, and Carrollwood Players.
Kennedy’s lifelong passion for literature and the arts began at an early age, and she has been recognized for her talents and achievements in various competitions and events. She has received awards and honors for her work as a spoken word artist, including Runner-Up for “Best Spoken Word Artist of the Bay” and First Place in several youth slam team qualifiers and virtual slams. Additionally, she has earned superior rankings for her original scripts, duet scenes, and monologues in theater competitions.
Kennedy is also passionate about combining her artistic interests across multiple disciplines. She began sharing her poetry before her creative writing class, igniting her love for writing and performance. Under the guidance of her vocal coach, Ms. Palma, Kennedy has improved her singing abilities and can now write and perform her songs confidently. She has also gained valuable experience in theater production and performance under the direction of Ms. Adams, completing numerous shows as both an actress and a technical crew member.
Kennedy’s hard work and dedication have earned her several scholarships, including the Military Trust Fund Support Scholarship, Florida Thespians Monologue Scholarship, and Dear Evan Hansen Scholarship. She plans to attend the University of South Florida (USF) to pursue her passion for theater and creative writing while studying other subjects such as math, science, and Spanish. With her diverse talents and interests, Kennedy will positively impact whatever she chooses to pursue in the future.
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2024 Judge: Shane Hinton is an Associate Teaching Professor of English and Writing at the University of Tampa. Hinton’s work focuses on the absurd and the horrific in contemporary society. He often writes about Florida and is an active member of the local literary community. Hinton is the author of three books: Pinkies (2015), Radio Dark (2019) and Other Shane Hintons (forthcoming 2025), and is the editor of the anthology We Can’t Help It If We’re From Florida (2017). His work has been published in literary magazines and exhibited at national and international conferences.
Lauren Scotch is a member of the Class of 2023 at Steinbrenner High School, where she is graduating with Beta honors for her successful completion of community service activities and maintaining a 4.0 GPA. She has trained in Ballet, Pointe, Contemporary, Jazz, Tap, and Hip Hop at the Contempo School of Dance with Lindsey Gunn, Carla Armstrong, Marisa Titus, and Emma Meyers. The faculty at Contempo School of Dance has been inspiring, mentoring her, improving her dance techniques and building her mindset as a dancer and person, cultivating a growth mindset in all aspects of her life. She has also been an assistant for Revel Dance Convention with Duncan Cooper, Trevor Sones, and Will Bell and a company member with the Artists Simply Human Dance Convention. She attends the Art of Movement Summer Intensive at the Orlando Ballet as a part of the “hybrid” program, which recognizes dancers who are strong in ballet and contemporary techniques. She additionally trains and helps assist classes with Relative Motion, an injury prevention program developed by Cara Dixon and Jaimie Goodwin.
Outside of dance, Lauren has been a Future Business Leaders of America club member and vice president of the Warriors Against Cancer club. She has also been recognized as a National Merit Commended Student, scoring in the top 3% of test takers on the NMSQT PSAT. Lauren is also a member of the Steinbrenner Honor Court, which recognizes the top 11 ranked students in her graduating class. She is graduating with the AP Capstone Diploma, acknowledging her successful completion of student-led research.
Lauren has been awarded the USF Presidential Scholarship. After high school, she plans to pursue a double major in biomedical sciences and dance performance at the University of South Florida. Her goal is to pursue a career as a physician while remaining involved in professional dance. She has already earned early acceptance into the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine’s class of 2031, allowing her to pursue her interests in dance and medicine.
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2024 Judge: Helen Hansen French received her BFA from The Juilliard School and her MFA from Hollins University. In 2001 she was invited to join Buglisi Dance Theatre (NYC), where she rose to principal dancer and served as rehearsal director. Tobi Tobias of the NYC Village Voice hailed her as “altogether luminous,” and Nancy Wozny of ArtsHouston says her “generous and radiant performance stands out.” She has toured nationally and internationally and has been instrumental in staging BDT’s works at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Pieve International School in Italy, North Carolina Dance Theater, and numerous colleges and universities throughout the United States. She has also been a member of Karen Reedy Dance, performed with Nilas Martins’ Dance Company, participated in a residency at White Oak Dance working with choreographer Adam Hougland, and performed in the Guggenheim’s Works/Process program with Brian Reeder and Pam Tanowitz. As a choreographer and movement maker Mrs. French focuses on collaborations and exploring the relationship between dance and other art forms. She has been awarded a 2015, 2016, and 2017 Individual Artist Grant from the City of St. Petersburg and a 2016 and 2021 Creative Pinellas Professional Artist Grant. In 2021 Helen was selected to be the Artist Laureate for Creative Pinellas. Her highly collaborative work has been shown in theaters, museums, galleries, and non-traditional performance spaces. Helen is an artist in residence at the Palladium Theater, where she co-produces Beacon: a performance series for St. Pete, now entering its eighth year. As an educator and arts advocate, she has served on numerous dance faculties, including George Mason University and The Juilliard School. Helen is on faculty at the Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School. She is a founding member of the St. Petersburg Dance Alliance and the Board Chair of the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance.
Myra Sexton began her formal violin training at age 5 through the Suzuki Lab School at the University of New Mexico. Founding Director Susan Kempter paired her with Roberta Arruda and Sigrid Karlstrom. Since moving to Florida, Myra has studied under Lauren Murphy at her Tampa Suzuki Strings Studio, participated in the Progress Village Middle Magnet School Orchestra program under the direction of Mrs. Kelly Cottet, the Howard W. Blake Magnet High School Orchestra program under the direction of Mr. Jason Jerald, and the Tampa Metropolitan Youth Orchestra (TMYO) Philharmonic Orchestra, Mr. Jason Jerald, Conductor, and Symphony Orchestra, Dr. William Wiedrich, Conductor.
Myra serves as the Concertmaster of the TMYO Symphony Orchestra, a position she has held for the past three years, and the Concertmaster of Blake High School’s Chamber and Symphony Orchestras. She won the 2023 Blake High School Concerto Competition in a duet with violinist Mariana Reyes Parra.
In addition to being a violinist, Myra is active in musical theatre and choir. She has completed the Senior Certificate in Music/Vocal Arts through the Patel Conservatory, where she is an active member of the Women’s Ensemble, Chorale, and Bella Voce quartet.
Myra is a member of the National Honor Society, the Blake High School Engineering Club, and the Blake High School Chamber, Philharmonic, and Symphony Orchestras, through which she was invited to perform at the 2022 FMEA President’s Concert and the 2023 ASTA National Convention Opening Concert, where she had the opportunity to collaborate with violinist Adrian Anantawan on the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor. Myra has also been selected for the FMEA All-State Orchestras and Hillsborough County All-County Orchestras. She participates in the Perlman Music Program/Suncoast Super Strings Program and is a past winner of the Florida Orchestra Musicians Association’s Justine LeBaron Young Artists Competition.
Myra will be attending Florida State University pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Music Therapy.
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2024 Judge: Paul Wilborn is the Executive Director of the Palladium Theater at St. Petersburg College. Under his leadership, the Palladium has won numerous “Best of the Bay” awards and is recognized as the top venue for jazz, blues, choral music, chamber music, and dance in the bay area. Paul is a pianist, musician, and bandleader. His American Songbook Series presents intimate cabaret shows at American Stage Theater and other venues around Florida. As founder and leader of Paul Wilborn and the Pop Tarts, he played most major venues in the Tampa Bay area for 15 years. He is a founding member of the WMNF and Studio at 620 Radio Theater Project and contributes radio plays to the project. Paul Wilborn serves as an adjudicator in a number of music competitions. Previously, Wilborn worked for Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio as Manager of Creative Industries, including directing Arte 2007, Tampa Bay’s Festival of Latin American Arts. He was an award-winning reporter and columnist for the Tampa Tribune, the St. Petersburg Times, and the Associated Press in Los Angeles, and a member of the St. Petersburg Times’ Editorial Board for two years. Paul Wilborn is a University of South Florida graduate and a Tampa native. His collection of short fiction, Cigar City: Tales From a 1980s Creative Ghetto, won the gold medal for fiction in the 2019 Florida Book Awards. His new novel, Florida Hustle, will be released in June.
Phillip Woodside – 2023 Visual Arts Winner
Phillip Woodside is a talented artist and a member of the Howard W. Blake High School Class of 2023 in Hillsborough County. He is a National Honor Society and National Art Honor Society member actively involved in the Black Student Union. Under the guidance of esteemed art educators Alicia Campos Masso, Molly Dressel, Linda Galgani, Valerie Chandler, and Lenny Cabanero-Harvey, Phillip has honed his skills, leading to numerous awards and honors.
Phillip’s artwork revolves around the representation of African Americans in art, where he often features himself and people of color as central figures. He critiques the historical eras of art and the lack of representation of African Americans within them. Phillip works solely in graphite and charcoal, allowing him to emphasize value, depth, and attention to detail.
Phillip’s recent accomplishments include acceptance into the National Honor Society, National Art Honor Society, and Black Student Union. He was also awarded Honorable Mention for two pieces of art, Master certification in art in Hillsborough County, and had his art exhibited at HCC Dale Mabry. He has been selected for the All-County band, receiving a Superior rating on music performance in solo/ensemble.
Throughout high school, Phillip held various leadership positions such as National Honor Society Member, National Art Honor Society Member, Graphic Design Leader, Master Certification, Blake Marching Yellow Jackets Drumline Section Leader, Blake Marching Yellow Jackets Drum Major, and 3rd Chair clarinet.
As a rising college freshman, Phillip plans to major in Fine Arts and minor in Graphic Design at Florida A&M University. He aims to combine his school learnings with his artistic vision in multiple ways. Phillip is passionate about fashion design and admires the creativity that comes together in colors and patterns.
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2024 Judge: Joanna Robotham joined the Tampa Museum of Art staff as the Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art in 2016. Ms. Robotham was part of the inaugural 2017 curatorial team for Skyway: A Contemporary Collaboration, a triennial of local artists working in the Tampa Bay area and mounted at museums across the region and in 2021, was one of five curators collaborating on the second presentation of Skyway. In June 2020, Ms. Robotham curated the Frank Stella: What You See the exhibition, an intimate survey of the artist’s printmaking oeuvre, and organized a series of exhibitions celebrating the Tampa Museum of Art’s 100th anniversary. She curated the Fall 2019 exhibition series Ordinary/Extraordinary: Assemblage in Three Acts: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Purvis Young, and Haitian Vodou Flags. Past original curatorial projects at the Tampa Museum of Art include Vapor and Vibration: The Art of Larry Bell and Jesús Rafael Soto (2018), as well as Mernet Larsen: Getting Measured, 1957-2017 (2017), a retrospective of Mernet Larsen’s paintings. Ms. Robotham previously held the Neubauer Family Foundation Assistant Curator position at the Jewish Museum in New York City, where she worked for over ten years. She received her M.A. in Curatorial Studies from the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College. She earned a B.A. in Art History and Political Science from the University of Washington.
Kaia Owens is a member of the Tampa Preparatory School Class of 2023. She has taken private voice lessons for 12 years and currently studies under Dr. Jonathan Bassett. Kaia has participated in several programs and activities, including the Lumina Youth Choirs, Opera Workshop at the Patel Conservatory, and the Summer Performing Arts With Juilliard program. She has also participated in the Tampa Preparatory School Chamber Chorus and Girls Barbershop Quartet. Kaia has won several awards and honors, including being a semi-finalist in the CS Music International Vocal Competition, 1st place in the St. Petersburg Opera High School Vocal Competition, and 2nd place in the NATS Southeast Region High Vocal Competition. She has also received a Superior Rating in Solo & Ensemble for seven consecutive years and is a Florida All-State Singer. In addition to her musical pursuits, Kaia is involved in various clubs and volunteer organizations, including the First Priority Christian Club and Empowering Women Tampa. She plans to attend Eastman School of Music after high school to pursue a degree in vocal performance and hopes to have a career in classical singing. Kaia’s professional debut with Opera Tampa in the chorus of Cavalleria Rusticana remains one of her proudest moments as a musician, as she felt a sense of belonging on stage with fellow performers.
2024 Judge: Dawne Eubanks well-known as a teacher and performer in the Tampa Bay Area and beyond. In addition to her duties at Eckerd, she teaches voice at the Pinellas County Center for the Arts and taught for many years at Hillsborough Community College. Instructor Eubanks holds a BA Degree in Vocal Music from Florida State University, and currently teaches voice at Eckerd College, as well as the Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School. Her solo career has led her to the stages of Carnegie Hall, the Meyerson Symphony Center, the Mahaffey Theatre, Ruth Eckerd Hall, and the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Other singing highlights include performances with the Florida Opera Co., Florida Opera West, Inc., The Florida Orchestra, The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, the Florida Orchestra Master Chorale, and the Turtle Creek Chorale, working with renowned conductors such as Robert Summer, Robert Shaw, Daniel Moe, Julius Rudel, Sir David Wilcox, and Timothy Seelig. Dawne has received outstanding reviews for her roles in local productions of Pirates of Penzance, Two By Two, and Little Mary Sunshine, to name some favorites. Recent performances include the soprano solos in Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass and Creation, Mozart’s Exsultate Jubilate, and Handel’s Messiah with members of The Florida Orchestra, as well as musical directing an Eckerd College student production of Into the Woods. Dawne is the assistant music director at the First Baptist Church of St. Pete, maintains a private vocalstudio, and is a sought after vocal coach and adjudicator for competitions and festivals in voice, choral music, musical theatre, and piano.