May 28, 2019 By Harry Funk staff Writer hfunk@thealmanac.Net 2 min read

Again, there are three.

Last year, Mt. Lebanon Partnership awarded its art scholarship to a trio of high school students, with those who made the selections figuring that represented a one-shot deal.

But history repeats itself for 2019, with Mt. Lebanon High School seniors Natalie Callahan, Hannah Jones and Madeline Kelly receiving $1,000 each toward the cost of studying art at their respective institutions of higher learning.

“When it comes to this, we have a terrible time making a decision about who is going to get the scholarship,” said Judy Neely, who is on the scholarship committee, during the May 28 presentation of the awards at the high school. “After we considered everything, and listened to everything they had to say and saw their wonderful artwork, it came down to this.”

The scholarship fund builds from money raised during the annual Mt. Lebanon Artists’ Market, which this year is scheduled for Sept. 21 and 22.

“Our artists are extremely generous,” Neely said. “They donate pieces of their artwork so that we can put them into a raffle, and then from there, the proceeds from the raffle allow us to offer a scholarship.”

Natalie, Hannah and Madeline applied for the scholarship at the encouragement of teacher Jennifer Rodriguez, who chairs the secondary fine arts department in Mt. Lebanon School District. They sat for interviews with Neely, Anne Frederickson and Jim Mellett.

“These three young ladies dazzled us in every possible way,” Neely said. “I’m not an artist, so I have this wonderful appreciation for all of the things that they do. And the things they do in their art classes are just amazing.”

She stressed awarding three scholarships was not the original intention this year.

“We didn’t want you to think we just decided, ‘oh, let’s do it again,'” she told the students. “You all brought such a unique viewpoint of your artwork, and you did an excellent job of explaining what makes your artwork so special.”

The mission of Mt. Lebanon Partnership is to create a vibrant community by promoting economic growth and preventing or correcting deterioration through the implementation of economic restructuring, design, promotions and organizational plans.

For more information, visit mtlebopartnership.org.