For the Reporter
The Auburn School District Board of Directors recently recognized Pam Smith, assistant director of the Auburn Performing Arts Center, as the outstanding staff member of the month.
Smith is in her 20th year leading the performing arts facilities in Auburn. Long before she began her role in the school district, she was involved in the arts community. She served on the Auburn Arts Commission for 16 years, performed in several community theater productions on the PAC stage, taught piano for 20 years and coordinated volunteer ushers for numerous performances at the PAC. When this position opened, she was a natural fit.
In her role, Smith manages the PAC, the Theatre at Mountainview, and the Auburn Riverside Theater.
“The Auburn Performing Arts Center is the flagship venue of the Auburn School District and Pam Smith is the captain,” said theater technician Joe Cughan. “She effortlessly coordinates hundreds of events every school year. She embodies the school district’s mission of arts in the district and in the community. She does it all with a positive, enthusiastic attitude that is contagious. She always goes above and beyond and is a role model for future generations.”
The school board also recognized Zak Sorensen, a fifth-grader at Lake View Elementary, as the outstanding student of the month.
By all accounts, Sorensen is an great student and friend. He sets challenging goals for himself each day and keeps excelling to higher levels. His classmates describe him as caring, kind, truthful and dependable boy.
“I appreciate Zak and the amazing person he is,” said Sorensen’s teacher, Alesha Row. “We are lucky to have him as part of our team. Keep it up kiddo, the world is yours to conquer.”
Reading and P.E. are his favorite subjects. He plays basketball and football and enjoys shooting hoops in his free time. He also likes helping his dad with his comic book store. His favorite comic is “Superman Batman Volume 1.”
Elsewhere
Skyler Erben and Joseph Galeno have been named to the dean’s lList at Pacific University (Ore.) for fall semester 2017. … Madison Newell of Auburn was named to the University of Alabama’s president’s list for fall 2017. … Jessica Ingle (BFA, interior design) received the University of Wisconsin-Stout Chancellor’s Award for the fall 2017 semester. The award is presented to students who have a grade point average of 3.5 or above. … Auburn’s Christina Chatman (acting for the stage and screen major) and Sara Sheldon (cinematic arts major) made the academic deans’ list at Azusa (Calif.) Pacific University. … Kansas State University Global Campus awarded more than 50 scholarships to students from throughout the country and Canada for the spring 2018 semester. The scholarships ranged from $600 to $1,500 each and totaled $54,200. Recipients include Auburn’s Lisa Haynes (senior, social science) and Maurine Allison (O’Bannon Memorial Scholarship). … Washington State University students have earned undergraduate degrees. A complete list can be found online at news.wsu.edu/fall-2017-washington-graduate-list. …
The Bob Jones University Alumni Association recently recognized Meetra Hamedi, a junior theatre arts major from Auburn, as a legacy student. Each year the BJU Alumni Association recognizes second-, third- and fourth generation legacy students. In order to be eligible, students must have at least one parent who graduated from BJU. Located in Greenville, S.C., Bob Jones University provides a regionally accredited Christian liberal arts education purposely designed to inspire a lifelong pursuit of learning, loving and leading.
