Eight DHS seniors were recognized for their achievements in literary, visual and performing arts at the Johnson County Shooting Stars Gala on March 25. Students were nominated in October to compete in the scholarship competition.

Senior Micah Faulds won first place in the literature category and received a $1,400 scholarship.

“I was not expecting them to call my name for first place. [The other nominees] were all very good writers. It was a lot of emotions at once,” Faulds said.

Faulds wrote two stories for the scholarship competition.

“I wrote a story called ‘Every Fifth Day is Christmas.’ It’s a short story about this low-income kid who has five shirts to wear, and he is bullied because one of them is a Christmas sweater and he has nothing else to wear,” Faulds said. “My second story was called ‘Meteors with Wings,’ and it was about another kid who wishes on a shooting star, and it lands in his backyard and it turns out to be a chicken. Then he starts wishing on the chicken, and it does not go well for him.”

Faulds was nominated for the scholarship by English teacher Phillip Hamilton.

“[Hamilton] was very serious about the Shooting Stars program. I read Stephen King’s memoir called On Writing, and I also went through a creative writing textbook. Both of those helped me a lot. It told me what not to do and helped a lot with the thinking process,” Faulds said.

Hamilton’s Creative Writing II class also provided feedback on Fauld’s work.

“[The class] recorded discussions and everyone read the stories. They all had their critiques on what I could improve and what parts were strong that I should keep,” Faulds said.

Senior Keirstyn Mascareno was also nominated for Shooting Stars in the classical vocal performance category. She auditioned in front of judges for the scholarship, singing two classical pieces, one in Italian and one in English.

“I have a vocal coach that I met with. She helped me pick out songs and rehearse, and she was my accompanist at the audition,” Mascareno said.

Although Mascareno did not receive a scholarship, she felt like the audition was a valuable experience.

“You’re gaining experience by going and doing this and having to perform in front of judges. It’s a more intense, stressful circumstance, which is a good experience,” Mascareno said. “It’s kind of a prestigious thing, even if you don’t win.”