2025 Gifted Senior Scholarship Winner: Nicole Namy

5/18/2025 10:08 pm

Exciting news! SAGE has selected TWO recipients for the Gifted Senior Scholarship Award.

Congratulations go to Class of 2025 graduates Nicole Namy (CHHS) and Lilli Cunningham (GHS)! Each student receives a $1000 scholarship toward their chosen college education.

Senior Gifted Scholar: Nicole Namy

Nicole will be studying at Rice University this coming fall.

Describe a time when you completed an assignment in an innovative, unexpected way.

...The song stretched several notes above the top of the soprano high C and moved through long sequences of notes in only seconds, requiring a level of vocal agility that I certainly did not possess at that time.

Nonetheless, I took on the challenge, knowing that the song's vocal difficulty, in tandem with the oddity of the performance, would stand out at the recital. I spent hours in my cold garage running around, attempting to sing Glitter and Be Gay to improve my breath support, gradually building the vocal agility to sing the song. I also researched the vocal techniques required to sing challenging arias. In the process, I learned much about the internal structures that make singing possible, such as the soft palate and the larynx.

When the concert day came, I listened to many beautiful, soft, and sweet classical songs, which my peers sang wonderfully, waiting nervously for my turn to sing, though I knew I had prepared.

Nobody expected me to begin my performance glaring at the audience...

Following the performance's conclusion, my accompanist told me that no audience had ever laughed so much at a high school performance she had played for, nor had she seen anyone perform an aria while skipping about the stage.

I decided to spin the idea of the concert on its head as something unserious, and even silly, resulting in the audience laughing as I acted out such an avant-garde performance. Following the performance's conclusion, my accompanist told me that no audience had ever laughed so much at a high school performance she had played for, nor had she seen anyone perform an aria while skipping about the stage. I knew then that I had made a breakthrough in my solo singing and hopefully left my peers with a humorous memory.

Short response excerpt by Nicole Namy, 2025

About the SAGE GT Senior Scholarship Awards

We had more than double last year's applicants, and judges found all the students' stories and accomplishments inspiring. Using a pre-approved rubric, SAGE Lifetime members are invited to review each applicant individually.

For more details about the updated application process, see this post from March 2025.