CHARLOTTE — Charlotte Catholic High School seniors Jamison M. Cox, Alexander J. Denton, Christopher J. Hoefling, John P. Meehan II and Sophia A. Roper have been named National Merit Scholarship finalists.
Jamison Cox is a member of the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta Math Honor Society, and Rho Kappa Social Studies Honor Society. He earned his Eagle Scout Award and serves as Woodwind Captain in the CCHS Band. He also serves as a Student Ambassador at CCHS. Jamison is the son of Mitch and Lennie Cox of Charlotte.
Alex Denton is a member of the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, and Rho Kappa. He also is a member of the Latin Honor Society. He is active in the Young Democrats Club and serves as a camp counselor at Camp Gabe, a summer camp for elementary school children. Alex is the son of Brett and Natalie Denton of Charlotte.
Chris Hoefling is a member of the National Honor Society, Spanish National Honor Society, Rho Kappa, and Mu Alpha Theta. He competed on the speech and debate team for two years. He plays varsity baseball at CCHS and travel baseball, as well as CYO basketball and golf. He serves as an assistant coach for a local youth baseball association and as a student ambassador at CCHS. Chris is the son of Matt and Jennifer Hoefling of Charlotte.
Jack Meehan is a member of the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, and the Spanish National Honor Society. A lifelong swimmer, Jack is captain of the CCHS Swim and Dive team and holds six school records. He has been named an All-American, has competed successfully at Senior and Junior Nationals, and works as a lifeguard. He volunteers with Freedom School and at the Teen Mass at his church. Jack is the son of Dennis and Kristin Meehan of Charlotte.
Sophia Roper is a member of the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, and Rho Kappa. She is captain of the Science Olympiad team at CCHS, which consistently wins competition medals. In addition to her extensive STEM coursework, she plays tennis and is first chair and a section leader in the CCHS band. She has been selected for All District and All State Honor Bands in multiple years. She began her own charity, Greater Good Cookies, selling homemade cookies to donate money to causes she supports. She is the daughter of David Roper and Anne Bradley of Charlotte.
Nearly 1.6 million high school juniors from more than 22,000 high schools nationwide entered the 2020 competition by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test last fall. Approximately 16,000 students qualified as semifinalists, representing less than 1 percent of all U.S. high school seniors.
From this group of outstanding students, approximately 15,000 finalists were named, and more than half of all finalists will receive either a Merit Scholarship or a Special Scholarship from a corporate sponsor.
The National Merit Scholarship program was founded in 1955 to distinguish and honor academically talented American high school students and to encourage them to develop their talents and skills to the fullest. The competition is very rigorous, and scholarship winners are chosen based on their skills, abilities, extracurricular accomplishments, and potential for future success.
— Carolyn Kramer Tillman
CHARLOTTE — Looking for ways to show off students’ work this school year, an Our Lady of the Assumption School teacher turned to digital platforms to host the school’s first ever Virtual Art Show.
Rachael Wilken, art and computer teacher at the Charlotte school, found very unique ways to display students’ artwork for their usual end-of-the-year show.
Wilken, who is finishing her fourth year teaching at OLA, has created an art show for each of the past three years.
“My very first year at OLA was my first year teaching. I was brand new, out of college, and I didn’t have anything planned to celebrate the kids,” she said. “The second year, I made a huge deal about showcasing their work throughout the year, and we had an art show with themed snacks. It was all rainbows and adorable. The second show, last year, was even bigger.”
This year, Wilken said, she had decided to show all of the students’ artwork throughout the year. She was collecting artwork, labeling the pieces and getting them ready to show when schools were closed to in-person classes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I was thinking, ‘How can I share all this great work with the students’ families?’” Wilken said. “Since we weren’t allowed to use the school building, I reached out to a couple places looking for warehouse space to hang everything. I found The Refinery in Charlotte, and they let me use an unfinished space to hang everything and create the virtual art gallery.”
In one day, she set up all the students’ work, took pictures and video, and then took it all down.
Wilken made a video highlighting the students’ projects and posted it to YouTube. She also added photos of the artwork to Google photos and even uploaded images to Google Maps. From the streetview, it allows for an interactive experience – as though you are walking through the halls filled with the year’s creativity.
Wilken said she knew the students were excited to share their art with their families, and it’s hard for them to understand what’s happening and why the school year ended the way it did.
“As life-long learners, we know that with new challenges, we find new solutions,” she said. “It’s something little I thought would lift the students’ spirits.”
And lift spirits it did – and not just the students, either. Parents flooded Wilken with positive emails, rejoicing that they were able to see their children’s work and share it with family and friends who don’t live in the Charlotte area as well.
— Kimberly Bender, Online reporter
More online
See the virtual room experience: https://www.google.com/maps/contrib/103618954204633669820/
More photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/wYiQw2P3b4kXrsYa9