For 17-year-old Poplarville resident Lauren LeCompte, participating in dance class has helped “keep her mind straight.”
Now, the elective has also provided a means to attend college. LeCompte recently received a $500 scholarship during the Kids Artistic Revue, a national competition held in Biloxi during the week of July 17.
This is the second year KAR has offered scholarship opportunities to dancers, Center Stage School of Dance owner Tonya Barnum said.
“It’s their way of giving back to the kids who come to years of competition,” she added. “There were 80 applicants and they only picked two.”
Applicants were required to fill out a form and list their school achievements, GPA, include a transcript and letters of recommendation, a complete list of extracurricular activities and their ACT score, Barnum said.
Barnum has been LeCompte’s teacher for the past six years and said the scholarship is a great opportunity for anybody to attend college.
“Lauren is very dedicated, spunky and always on time,” Barnum said. “She’s always willing to help and is just an all-around good kid, not just school wise but leadership wise as well.”
In the fall, LeCompte will be attending the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg to study nursing and pre-medicine. The recent Poplarville High School graduate said her many years of dance training will help her succeed in this next chapter of her life.
“When you dance, you have to remember things,” she said. “It’s sharpened my memory. I’ve also learned how to schedule things. With dance, you have to work around school and work schedules so they don’t overlap.”
LeCompte said her passion for dancing has also helped her cope with the recent deaths of her uncle and “dance sister.”
With the dance scholarship, LeCompte can purchase books for her upcoming semester. She also received a $2,000 scholastic scholarship to USM.
In addition to LeCompte’s scholarship, dance studio participants brought home five top firsts, one Elite Top First, one 9th overall and the adult group was named adult champions, Barnum said.
“The studio is a really great family,” LeCompte said. “Tonya has been a big influence on my life. She helps us a lot with emotional things and makes us stronger. She also gives us social skills. She’s like another mom and looks out for us.”