Forty-two Mississippi School of the Arts (MSA) seniors have beenoffered a combined total of $758,135 in scholarship awards, MSAofficials say.

Dr. Vicki Bodenhamer, MSA executive director, believes thescholarship offers show the benefit of a worthwhile investment.

“It shows the benefits of quality education when opportunitiesare provided for Mississippi’s children,” Bodenhamer said.

The executive director believes MSA graduates have a brightfuture ahead of them.

“In 2005, all but one of our students went to college and theother went to New York to pursue work in the arts. I think we willhave 100 percent college attendance this year,” Bodenhamer said.”Not many schools can say that.”

Bodenhamer believes the investment of Mississippi taxpayers willpay off for Mississippi colleges and universities.

“The majority of these scholarship offers are from within thestate of Mississippi.”

Bodenhamer concedes that some of MSA’s 42 graduates will leavethe state, but she said many will remain in Mississippi.

“Some apply out-of-state and some have gone out-of-state, but weencourage our students to apply to our Mississippi schools,”Bodenhamer said.

The executive director believes that MSA graduates have a hostof quality colleges and universities to choose from within thestate.

“All of Mississippi’s State institutions have quality visual andperforming arts departments,” Bodenhamer said.

Several MSA students will attend the University of SouthernMississippi (USM), which Bodenhamer believes is a good fit for manyMSA students.

“USM is the only state institution with nationally accreditedart programs in each of the three areas we offer here at MSA,”Bodenhamer said.

However, Mississippi state colleges and universities are not theonly institutions recruiting MSA graduates. Private colleges inMississippi are shelling out big bucks for some of MSA’s mosttalented graduates.

Greenville native Brittani Johnson studied vocal performance atMSA and received more scholarship offers than any other student,Bodenhamer said. Johnson was offered a total of $137,000 inscholarships from Millsaps College in Jackson. Johnson alsoreceived the Gates Millennium Scholarship, a grant from the Billand Melinda Gates Foundation.

Several MSA students were awarded the Mississippi Scholars Awardand others received in-house awards from the MSA Foundation.

“This year marks the first time the MSA foundation has offered ascholarship to a student with the highest average in each of ourthree disciplines,” Bodenhamer said.

Each of the three award winners received $1,000.

“These are highly accomplished students,” Bodenhamer said. “Youwon’t find a finer group of students as far as I’m concerned. Thesekids are ready to compete with anyone in the nation.”

If colleges all over the state have their eyes on MSA students,then students from all over the state have their eye on MSA.

The state arts school recently completed its third year ofclasses and will accommodate more students during the 2006-2007school year than in previous years.

“We extended our application deadline because of hurricaneKatrina,” Bodenhamer said. “We have more applications and moreaccepted for admission than ever before. We’re having to addfaculty.”

And it’s not just for the arts. Bodenhamer said employers in the21st century are looking for other qualities that artistspossess.

“Artists are creative and flexible and they think outside of thebox,” Bodenhamer said. “The idea of a starving artist in the 21stcentury is a myth.”

MSA graduates who have announced the intentions plan to attendMississippi State, University of Mississippi, USM, Delta StateUniversity, Mississippi College, Millsaps College, Copiah LincolnCommunity College, Southwest Mississippi Community College, HindsCounty Community College, Savanah Arts College, Centenary College,University of New Orleans, Loyola University, Naropa University,Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, Drexel University,Memphis College of Art, The Art institute of Pittsburg, and RadfordUniversity.