March 22, 2022
The Shawnee State University Development Foundation (SSUDF) is accepting applications for students interested in the SOPAA Fine & Performing Arts Scholarship. The scholarship, established by the Southern Ohio Performing Arts Association (SOPAA) in 2021, supports full-time students pursuing a degree in Fine Arts from Shawnee State University.
The SOPAA Fine & Performing Arts Scholarship honors SOPAA’s mission to enhance, educate, and entertain by bringing affordable entertainment to the tri-state area. Starting in the early 1900s as a group of volunteers as Civic Music and evolving into the Southern Ohio Community Concert Series in the 1950s, the non-profit performing arts association eventually began in the 1990s. The volunteer board partnered with SSU beginning in 1996 to bring together a selection of shows in the Vern Riffe Center for the Arts each year. The SOPAA Fine & Performing Arts Scholarship continues their legacy by supporting art students at SSU.
To be eligible to apply, a student must be an incoming, rising, or current full-time student at SSU, be pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts, and be in good academic standing with a GPA of 2.5 or above. Scholarships will be awarded at the discretion of the selection committee with SSUDF and Financial Aid approval. The total amount available is $1,000 and may be divided into two $500 awards.
To apply, students should submit a resume, a minimum one-page statement – describing Fine Arts experience, accomplishments, and post-graduation goals –, and a portfolio. For students pursuing a Fine Arts degree in Visual Arts, a minimum of five works should be included in their portfolio. For those pursuing a Fine Arts degree in Performing Arts, an audition video featuring solos, dance, and/or theatre performances should be included in the portfolio.
All application materials can be submitted online at shawnee.edu/SOPAA22. For preference or full consideration, the deadline to submit application materials is Apr. 1, although materials submitted by Apr. 30 may be considered at the discretion of the selection committee.
To learn more about scholarship opportunities at Shawnee State University, visit shawnee.edu/scholarships.