![IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Junior Zalie Mann performs “I Love to Cry at Weddings,” an ensemble piece from the fall musical Sweet Charity, to prospective students during the Fine Arts Showcase on Wednesday, Nov. 8. The showcase is a compilation of performances and demonstrations from each fine arts strand offered at McCallum. This show is put on so that prospective students can see if they are interested in joining an academy or major.
Sweet Charity originally ran the weekends of Sept. 28 and Oct. 8, but made a comeback for the Fine Arts Showcase.
“[Being at the front in the spotlight] is my favorite part of the whole dance, so I was super happy to be on stage performing and smiling at the audience,” Mann said.
Mann performed in both the musical theatre performance and dance excerpt “Ethereal,” a contemporary piece choreographed by the new dance director Terrance Carson, in the showcase. With also being a dance ambassador, Mann got to talk about what MAC dance is, her experience and answer any questions the aspiring arts majors and their parents may have.
Caption by Maya Tackett.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/53321803427_47cd17fe70_o-1-1200x800.jpg)
![SPREADING THE JOY: Sophomore Chim Becker poses with sophomores Cozbi Sims and Lou Davidson while manning a table at the Hispanic Heritage treat day during lunch of Sept 28. Becker is a part of the students of color alliance, who put together the activity to raise money for their club.
“It [the stand] was really fun because McCallum has a lot of latino kids,” Becker said. “And I think it was nice that I could share the stuff that I usually just have at home with people who have never tried it before.”
Becker recognizes the importance of celebrating Hispanic heritage at Mac.
“I think its important to celebrate,” Becker said. “Because our culture is awesome and super cool, and everybody should be able to learn about other cultures of the world.”
Caption by JoJo Barnard.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/53221601352_4127a81c41_o-1200x675.jpg)
Fayette County boasts first female Eagle Scout
Courtesy of Adeline Harper
Eagle Scout Adeline Harper shakes hands with an Eagle Scout Board of Review member. Harper, along with two fellow troopmates, was Fayette County’s first female scout to achieve the rank of Eagle.
October 10, 2022
In May of 2018, Boy Scouts of America expanded to include girls in the program. When this change came around, the BSA community was divided on the topic, with many arguing that the organization should remain solely for boys, per the name and origin of the group.
Regardless, as girls entered the program within the last few years, they have made leaps and bounds in their scouting careers, making differences within their communities, and climbing the ranks, including that of the Eagle Scout. This is the highest rank a scout can achieve, and only four percent of scouts have achieved it since BSA’s inception in 1911.
Recently, Fayette County announced its first female Eagle Scout, Adeline Harper, a junior at Starr’s Mill, who rose to the Eagle rank along with troopmates Hailey and Jasmine Pecoraro.
“I’m very happy and I feel very satisfied,” Harper said. “It’s a very big achievement for me, and I’m also super proud of the other two girls in my troop who got it because we all [did] at the exact same time.”
Harper got her start in scouting in 2019, but at the time there were limited opportunities for a girls’ troop nearby. She eventually found her way to Troop 212, the local troop where she advanced to the Eagle rank.
“Adeline is an incredible person,” Flint River scout executive Robert Johnson said. “She was before she was an Eagle Scout, but this accomplishment is significant, and it will make her a better person, and it will really help enhance her future.”
Completing a service project is a requirement for becoming an Eagle Scout, and for hers, Harper renovated the concrete playground patio at North Fayette Elementary. The patio was blackened and covered with molded pollen. Harper and a team of scouts came in and began to clean up, a process which included powerwashing the concrete, as well as giving it a bleach treatment. Then, they painted a huge, colorful map of the United States to beautify the space.
“Once you’re an Eagle, you’re always an Eagle,” Harper said. “An Eagle Scout is like the role model, and once people find out you’re an Eagle Scout they’re going to pay attention to how you act and behave and present yourself.”
The Boy Scouts of America hold moral values to a high bar, as shown by the Scout Oath and the Scout Law that are recited at each meeting. These oaths set character expectations for the scouts, and holding true to them is not always easy. This challenge is magnified by the controversial change that allowed girls to join the program.
“You either get people who are like, ‘You belong in the kitchen,’ or you get people who are super accepting,” Harper said. “But even through the backlash, as much as we might want to lash out, we still have to be respectful and kind.”
As the history of women in scouting progresses, more will climb the ranks to Eagle. This will create opportunities for these women to impact the lives of its members and the communities in which they live.
This story was originally published on The Prowler on October 7, 2022.
