At the end of every August, there’s a noticeable shift on Cape Cod as crowds begin to dwindle. It’s a time of change when visitors and locals alike are preparing for the start of the school year and when high school seniors who graduated in June are preparing to begin the next chapter of their lives.
For three such students— Falmouth High School’s Isabel Pardee (UMASS Lowell), Barnstable High School’s Toby Everett (Bridgewater State University), and Monomoy Regional High School’s Scarlett O’Malley (Saint Louis University’s Madrid campus) — they’ll be pursuing degrees in the arts.
Prior to graduating, the trio were celebrated as part of a ceremony held at the Cape Cod Museum of Art in May, when they were presented with $1,000 scholarships, funded by the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod in partnership with the Cape Cod and Islands Arts Educators Association.
“The ambition to create something capable of moving others, allowing them to see the world from a different perspective — your perspective, is honorable, worthwhile, and so necessary,” said the association’s Benton Jones, who is the Director of Art at the museum, in kicking off the event. “It is the most meaningful thing us humans do and I am so grateful to you and to those who have offered their support to you in pursuit of the creative.”
Guest speaker Jane Baker, an art teacher at Falmouth High School who was named Art Educator of the Year this past March by the Massachusetts Art Education Association, encouraged the graduating seniors “to make art daily. Art making is an indispensable coping tool, giving your brain permission to let go of what is bothering or hurting you.”
She also stressed how their art can help others, serving as a source of inspiration, comfort, joy, empathy, inquiry, and dialogue for audiences who view their work. “How will you choose to use your gift in the coming years?” she asked.
For Scarlett, 18, she plans on pursuing a degree in history and the visual arts and hopes to one day work in art restoration.
At UMASS Lowell, Isabel will work on her craft as an illustrator, perhaps pursuing a career in animation. “It’s nice to be recognized for something I love to do,” Isabel said of her scholarship.
Her mother Ana beamed with pride after the ceremony was over, noting how hard her daughter works at her art. “She puts so much time and effort into everything she does, especially the arts,” she said. “She wants everything perfect so she spends so much time to create something. It is so nice to see all that work and effort get recognized.”
In her speech, Jane Baker impressed upon the students the difference they can make as artists. “You have the power to shape your future, your impressions of that future, and all the ways that others remember your impressions.”
Along with the Arts Foundation’s scholarships, Nauset Regional High School senior Saffron Jalbert (Savannah College of Art & Design in Atlanta) received a scholarship from the Pastel Painters Society of Cape Cod and Lili Nguyen of Barnstable High School (Fashion Institute of Technology) received a scholarship from the Printmakers of Cape Cod.