Texas Renaissance Festival awards scholarship to Woodlands College Park High School senior

THE WOODLANDS, Texas -- Texas Renaissance Festival, the nation’s largest and most acclaimed Festival of food, fun and 16th century magic, announced today the recipients of its School Days Scholarship Program.

Adithya Chunangad, a senior at The Woodlands College Park High School (Conroe ISD), has been awarded the Fine Arts Scholarship, providing $1,500 toward the college or university in which he enrolls. The Fine Arts Scholarship is awarded to students planning to major in one of the Fine Arts (dance, instrumental music, theatre arts, visual/graphic arts or vocal music).

Adithya was recognized for his commitment to honing his musical craft as both a pianist and vocalist, including an education in classical composition and opera, high school musical theatre productions, private instruction, public competitions and performances, as a member of the Texas All-State Choir, and more. He intends to double major in chemical engineering and voice performance at The University of Texas at Austin.

“We created the School Days Scholarship Program as a way to reward those students who show great promise and enrich their respective communities,” said Kim Bryant, School Days coordinator for the Texas Renaissance Festival. “We consider our fellow Texans to be the heart of all those who descend upon Texas Renaissance Festival each year, and it fills us with immense pride that we can give back to them in an equally special way.”

Candidates are evaluated against academic performance, extracurricular involvement service, and essays detailing personal ambitions, goals and influences. The scholarship program is an annual extension of Texas Renaissance Festival’s School Days, Nov. 6-7, 2018, when the Festival is open only to teachers and students. During School Days, students are introduced to the culture, art, science, and literature of the Renaissance period, and have the opportunity to learn courtly dances, the ancient art of falconry, the history of arms and armor, and more.

Additional scholarship recipients include Jade Parbs, of Lufkin High School in Lufkin, Texas (Participant); Nayeli Sanchez, of Willis High School in Conroe, Texas (Humanities); and Gabrielle McCullough, of Porter High School in Porter, Texas (Educators).