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JAMIE SHERMANThe scholarships are for juniors and seniors who specialize in dance, voice, visual arts, drama and instrumental music.
Five $10,000 arts scholarships are being offered to juniors and seniors by a local neurosurgeon through the Pinellas Education Foundation.
The scholarships target Pinellas public school students who specialize in instrumental music, dance, visual arts, drama/musical theater and voice.
Deadline to apply is Jan. 9. Applications are available through school arts teachers. The top four students in each category will be chosen to perform before a panel of judges May 6 at the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg. The finals will be open to the public.
The finals also are scheduled to air on Bright House Networks.
The top prize in each category is $10,000, with second place receiving $3,000; third place, $2,000; and fourth place, $1,000. In addition, each school with a first-place winner will receive $2,000.
The winners will be called "Walker's Rising Stars" after Dr. Jeffrey Walker, a St. Petersburg neurosurgeon who is sponsoring the scholarships.
"This scholarship supports both the arts and art education," Walker said. "It's a good thing for the kids."
Walker also is sponsoring two arts education awards for graduating seniors. A $2,500 scholarship will go to one student each in the categories of music education and visual arts education. Those applications are available online at www.pinellaseducation.org Rich Engwall, the foundation's vice president of development, said that Walker "has a love of the arts and wanted to do something special" for Pinellas County students.
For more information, contact the foundation at (727) 588-4816.
- Jamie Sherman is a member of the Times Xpress Team.