Athens Reporter

Athens Area Chamber of Commerce issued the following announcement on July 27. 

The Classic Center Cultural Foundation is proud to announce the final recipients of the 2021 Arts Scholarships in the instrumental and culinary categories: Kalani Washington and Hayat Olusanya. The Cultural Foundation would like to thank its generous donors for the ability to grant scholarships such as these to help make an impact on the youth of Athens and the surrounding areas.

One of the goals of The Cultural Foundation is to support the youth in the local community in their continuous study of the arts, and it is thrilled to be able to award $30,000 in scholarships annually in pursuit of this goal. The Cultural Foundation has already awarded six of these scholarships this year and is excited to award another instrumental winner and a culinary winner. There were many wonderful applicants, and The Cultural Foundation is extremely grateful to all of those who came and participated.

Recipients:

Kalani Washington

Instrumental, Oconee County High School

Oconee County High School senior Kalani Washington is a performing arts talent in every way. On the instrumental side, she placed first in the state for 4-H for her performance on bells and has received the award “Most Outstanding Percussionist” twice. In addition, she sang with 4-H’s Clovers and Company for years, performed in musical theatre performances such as Shrek the Musical and Urinetown, and participated with her school’s a cappella group for three years. She was also a finalist for the 2020 Governor’s Honors Program in Communicative Arts, which she plans to pursue at Savannah College of Art and Design in the fall as she works to become a screenwriter. For her audition as the instrumental winner, Kalani played the xylophone.

Hayat Olusanya

Culinary, Gwinnett Technical College

A current student at Gwinnett Technical College, Hayat Olusanya is working to complete her culinary degree. Although she has worked in the hospitality industry for several years, cooking is her true passion and she found herself seeking to express her creativity through the food she prepares. Hayat draws inspiration from her travels and likes to bring together flavors from around the world. Her goal is to complete her culinary studies, as well as study nutrition, as she works toward a career helping show Americans that both healthy and delicious options can coexist. For her audition as the culinary winner, Hayat served shrimp fried rice and barbecue chicken wings presented in a pineapple.

Original source can be found here.

Source: Athens Area Chamber of Commerce