who's neXt 2/6/14

Honors and awards

* Local teams advancing to the Missouri FIRST Tech Challenge Missouri State Championship on March 1 at Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, Mo., are: Furious George, Chaffee Industrial Arts & Technology, Chaffee, Mo.; Girls with Attitude, Chaffee Industrial Arts & Technology; and Semper Fi, Chaffee Industrial Arts & Technology. Area winners in the Missouri FIRST Tech Challenge were Motivate Award: KART, Kennett High School, Kennett, Mo.; Inspire Award: Furious George; and PTC Design Award: Chaffee Industrial Arts & Technology.

* Brittany Hastings represented Missouri Baptist University in St. Louis last month while attending the 76th annual Missouri Music Educators Association In-Service Workshop and Conference. The conference, held at Tan-Tar-A resort in Osage, Mo., gives students an opportunity to network, participate in sessions that expand their understanding of music education, enjoy concerts and learn from a keynote speaker. Hastings is a senior from Jackson, who is majoring in musical theater.

Graduates

* Several area students were among the more than 700 receiving degrees from Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, Mo.,) at its December graduation ceremonies. Area students were: Blake Alan Smith of Cape Girardeau earned a bachelor's degree in business and management systems, magna cum laude; Tyler Charles Payne of Cape Girardeau earned a bachelor's degree in civil engineering, summa cum laude; John Richard Robinson of Cape Girardeau earned a bachelor's degree in business and management systems; Gregory Paules Gibson of Jackson earned a bachelor's degree in mining engineering, magna cum laude; Travis Lynn Roth of Jackson earned a bachelor's degree in civil engineering, summa cum laude; Ashton Kane Gaskill of Millersville earned a bachelor's degree in architectural engineering, cum laude; and Eli Grady Birdwell of Sikeston, Mo., earned a bachelor's degree in mining engineering, magna cum laude. Missouri S&T has traditionally recognized graduates earning a bachelor's degree with honors with the designations summa cum laude, magna cum laude and cum laude on their diplomas. The highest honor, summa cum laude, is awarded to students who have earned a cumulative grade-point average of 3.8 or above on a 4.0 scale for all courses counting toward the degree. Magna cum laude is the designation for a GPA of 3.5 to 3.79, and cum laude indicates a GPA of 3.2 to 3.49.

Scholarships

* Among local students awarded scholarships to attend Southeast Missouri State University for the 2014-2015 academic year are Madeline Siefert of Cape Girardeau; Taylor Bauknecht and Alexis Engelhart of Jackson; Nathan Justice of Sikeston, Mo.; and Lorraine Eddings of Benton, Mo.

-- From staff reports