3 eighth graders receive scholarships from Vail Christian High School
Students awarded with the annual Honor and Heart of an Artist scholarships

Vail Christian High School/Courtesy Photo
Vail Christian High School announced on Wednesday the 2024 recipients of its annual academic and arts scholarships: the Honor Scholarship and the Heart of an Artist Scholarship.
Gwen Middleton and Aidian O’Shaughnessy were named to join the high school’s class of 2028 as recipients of the Honor Scholarship and the second annual Heart of an Artist Scholarship was awarded to Reese McCommons.
“The arts are essential and we celebrate them equally to academics and athletics at Vail Christian High School,” said Steve O’Neil, Vail Christian’s head of school. “Our student body has versatile talents and gifts and we are proud to honor them in this way.”
At the annual scholarship award ceremony, Kristy Maslan, the school’s director of admissions, read from nomination forms and interview notes that represent and speak to the character of all three recipients. Among those words were: expressive, charismatic, hard-working, creative, dedicated, genuine kindness, inclusive, leader among peers, curious, thoughtful, humble, gracious and more.
“We value the unique traits of our students and love to see them so clearly align with our school’s core values of excellence, character, faith and community,” O’Neil said.

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The Honor Scholarship is a merit-based award given to incoming Vail Christian High School freshmen. Middleton and O’Shaughnessy were selected from 14 nominated eighth graders based on grades, standardized test scores, teacher recommendations, essays and personal interviews conducted by a panel of three ninth-grade teachers.
Middleton, home-schooled, and O’Shaughnessy of Vail Christian Academy, earned the 2024 Honor scholarships, providing each with half-price tuition each year until graduation from Vail Christian High School, totaling over $50,000 per student over four years. Awardees of the scholarship must maintain a 3.75 GPA throughout their four years of schooling and exhibit strong character and leadership.
Vail Christian High School created the Heart of an Artist scholarship in 2023 to provide a local artist $5,000 off of tuition for four years. This year’s award was given to home-schooled eighth grader Reese McCommons. McCommons is a visual artist with a passion for volleyball, track, theater, baking and interior design.
Heart of an Artist candidates must be nominated by a teacher and demonstrate the breadth and depth of their creative pursuits. The recipient must commit to taking fine arts classes each year in all of Vail Christian’s art disciplines: studio art, digital media, theater and music.
“To have the heart of an artist is to view the world radically, feel intensely and think creatively,” McCommons said.