EDWARDSVILLE - The Edwardsville Rotary Club has chosen to honor Edwardsville High School student Sami McKenny with the Student of the Month Award for September. Sami McKenny was nominated by Edwardsville High School journalism teacher, Mrs. Amanda Thrum.
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Sami is the daughter of Dr. Elizabeth and Dr. Mark McKenny. She is 17 years old and a senior at EHS. Sami is currently president of the National Art Honors Society and is the Vice Team Captain for the Ethics Bowl. She is a member of the National French Honor Society and the National Honor Society as well as an officer of the National English Honor Society. She is a yearbook photographer and is the Editor-in-Chief of the school papers The Claw and The Tiger Times Online. Additionally, she is a member of the Creative Writing Club and has a freelance contract with the Intelligencer to write occasional stories.
Outside of school, Sami takes weekly dance classes in the studies of ballet, jazz, hip-hop, and modern. She has been a member of Turning Pointe’s pre-professional company, Tour Dance for 9 years and she takes part in two to three large-scale performances annually. Sami also takes weekly voice lessons at The Green Room to prepare for vocal competitions and twice-yearly recitals. She is the recipient of three gold cups and seven consecutive Superior Scores through the National Federation of Music Clubs.
Sami’s previous achievements include the Illinois Journalism Education Association Statewide 2024 Pre-Submitted Story Contest in which she received first place in the Serious Opinion Article category, second place in the Editorial Cartoon category, second place in the Front-page Design category and third place in the Sports Feature category. She also was a member of the EHS Journalism Team that tied for first place in the Illinois High School Association 2023 State Journalism Contest. In the Southern Illinois School Press Association 2024 Pre-Submitted Story Contest, Sami took first place in the Website Feature Article category, first place in the Sports Feature Article category, first place in the Front-Page Design category, and first place in the Opinion Article category.
In her free time, Sami enjoys painting, writing poetry, reading, and graphic design.
In the future, Sami plans to pursue journalism with a focus on political reporting and longform work. She intends to double major in journalism as well as political science with a minor in either French or dance. She is applying to several schools with top-ranked journalism programs with the hope of attending Northwestern.
The Edwardsville Rotary Club recognizes a student each month September through April. Each May, Edwardsville High School staff chooses one of the monthly winners to receive the $2,500 Edwardsville EHS Rotary Scholarship. The awards have been given since 1996 and the Edwardsville Rotary Club has given out over $35,000 in scholarships to date.
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