Suffolk News-Herald

On May 30, the art of Suffolk youths spread across the gym floor of John F. Kennedy Middle School as 25 acts of 33 local children (cut down from the 75 that applied to participate) showed their skills as the area’s Future Artists, Musicians and Entertainers (FAME). Later this fall, the influence of FAME will be felt at Richmond’s Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). That’s where Nansemond-Suffolk Academy graduates Megan Forbes and Joshua Geeting will be attending on scholarship funds raised by the FAME program. On Thursday evening, the two former Saints received the Suffolk Department of Parks and Recreation’s (DPR) first (and, hopefully, annual) FAME scholarship. The criteria were that the students must have been graduating seniors planning to embark on a career in the art field.

&uot;We wanted to show the city of Suffolk our appreciation,&uot; said DPR director Lakita Frazier. &uot;We now provide you with some means of assistance in your endeavors. We encourage you to take your education to whatever level you want; all heights of excellence. A college graduate myself, I know that every little bit helps when you’re at college.&uot;

Forbes, the NSA yearbook sports editor, wants to major in photography at VCU.

&uot;I’d gotten a long list of scholarship rejections, so I was surprised when I got this,&uot; she said.

Geeting was the man behind the lights and sound at NSA assemblies and theatrical productions. This August, he’ll start a major in technical theater production at VCU.

&uot;I was surprised because I thought that there were a lot of other people who had registered for the scholarship,&uot; he said.