Shauna Hawryluk worked hard to keep her daughter Jennie’s Rotary Youth Talent Festival award a secret in the days leading up to the event finale last Friday night.
“We knew from last Wednesday that the committee had chosen her. We kept it a surprise from her,” said the proud mama, adding she even managed to stop Jennie from looking at a festival program.
When Jennie was finally revealed at the end of the evening as one of the recipients of the coveted Illa Rumpel Scholarship, the spring in her daughter’s step assured Hawryluk all her sneaky work had paid off.
“I could certainly tell when she bounced up the stairs that she was pretty thrilled,” Hawryluk said.
Jennie was one of five beneficiaries of the annual bursary, which provides financial incentive to creative kids to continue pursuing their passions. Pianist Madelyn Schartner, musical theatre performer Sydney Green, dancer Jillian Sanborn and Amanda Paul were also each honoured for their contributions to the arts community.
“(It felt) like someone opened a shaken soda pop in my stomach,” said the 14-year-old singer-songwriter, recalling the moment when emcee Jock Wilson called her name. “It was awesome.”
Jennie said she will use her financial rewards to purchase a new guitar – she’s been using the same instrument her dad bought at a pawn shop when she first started playing years ago.
“The guitar that I have now is an acoustic guitar. It can’t emphasize and let out noise as much as I’d like to at gigs and stuff like that,” said Jennie.
Friday’s gala at RockPointe Church was the culmination of a week of adjudicated sessions and judges’ deliberations, after more than 240 youth performed for experience and feedback. About two dozen of those entertainers took the stage on Friday, including Jennie, who sang two original songs.
“It was just a rush,” said the 14-year-old Springbank resident. “It was really, really fun.”
As much as Hawryluk enjoyed surprising her daughter with the scholarhip award, the final surprise of the evening came for both Jennie and her parents when she was recognized with a second honour: the Rotary of Cochrane Award of Excellence.
“We didn’t even know there was anything like that. We were just thrilled,” said Hawryluk. “Music has really just been a part of (Jennie) forever – it sounds kind of cheesy, but really, since she was little, she has been singing. It’s just a part of her.”
