Heather Jackson, senior, has recently been awarded a Shooting Star scholarship from the Arts Council of Johnson County. Jackson won second place and a $700 scholarship in the category Production and Design.

The Shooting Stars program awards nine first place scholarships, nine second place scholarships, and nine teacher honorarium scholarships. The program was founded in 1997 by Bob Endres, in hopes of celebrating and helping young artists excel in their passion.

Each school can nominate one student for each category of awards. Jeremy Riggs, theatre teacher, nominated Jackson.

Jackson said when she found out she won it was “surprising and thrilling” and that the competition was very strong because there were “so many talented people.”

She described the process as “a lot” and “really difficult,” but very rewarding.

The process started at the beginning of the school year and included sending in a resume, putting together a portfolio and preparing for an interview.

Her interest in production and design began freshman year when she began to pursue technical theatre and design. Jackson said her favorite part is “creating sound effects” and compared it to making a movie.

Jackson is not sure whether or not she will continue production and design and is currently planning on pursuing English after high school.

Jackson described the Shooting Star program as a “really great experience” where she developed many skills that will be beneficial to her future, such as how to interview and present information about herself.