by Liz Beavers
lbeavers@newstribune.info
managing editor
KEYSER — In a break from tradition, Keyser High School has announced there are four nominees this year for the Katharine M. Church Award.
Gabrielle A. Bartlett, Caitlin N. Dorsey, Matraca Lynn Shirley, and Chelsea Denise Willis were chosen for the honor which normally targets three senior young women as nominees for the award.
Initiated in 1992 in the name of former educator Katharine Moore Church, the award honors those senior young women who maintain at least a B average, successfully participate in a sport for at least two of their four high school years, and exhibit the qualities of a positive role model.
According to Chairperson Dinah Courrier, the KHS faculty chose the four girls and a committee composed of members of the Keyser Rotary Club – which sponsors the annual award – will choose the recipient.
Bartlett, the daughter of Krista Smith of New Creek and Michael Bartlett of El Paso, Texas, participated in volleyball in her ninth, tenth and senior years, sitting out in her junior year only due to an injury. She spent that year, however, as statistician for the team.
She also played basketball in the ninth and tenth years, and tennis as a freshman.
Academically, she has earned the Microbiology award at the West Virginia State Fair at Marshall University, was named to the National Honor Roll, and was inducted into both the Keyser High and Mineral County Technical Center Honor Societies.
She has been active in the Arts and Cultural Enrichment Society (ACES), Hi-Y (currently serving as co-vice president), RAZE (serving as president for the past three years), SADD, student Council, Upward Bound, and Youth Alive, among other activities.
Bartlett has also completed 105 hours of community service, including volunteering at the Catamount Children's Center, Piedmont After School Program, Special Olympics, the American Diabetic Association, and a long list of other organizations and charities.
She is a member of the First Assembly of God Church in Westernport and its Youth Group.
Dorsey, the daughter of Shaun and Robin Dorsey of Keyser, is a four-year member of the KHS tennis team and was ranked in the Top 7 for all four years.
She currently serves as team captain and is ranked No. 1 in both singles and doubles for the team. She also represented her team at regionals and went to the state tournament ranked No. 1 in doubles.
For the past two years she has also served as statistician/manager for the boys' basketball team.
Academically, Dorsey has been on the Honor Roll for all four years and was just recently named as a Goldsworthy Scholar, honoring the top 10 percent of the graduating class. Her grade point average is 4.034.
She will be graduating with at least 12 college credits, and has been named as a Promise Scholarship winner.
She has been active in journalism at the school, having read, illustrated, written and edited The Companion, the school-produced book review magazine.
She plays piccolo and flute and has been a member of the marching and concert bands for four years.
Also active in the community, she has volunteered with Toys for Joy, the Salvation Army kettle drive, and Relay for Life, among others.
She attends Calvary United Methodist Church in Keyser and has participated in the church bell choir.
Matraca Shirley, the daughter of Donald and Jackqueline Shirley of Keyser, has had basketball in her blood, having played the sport from the youth leagues in 1999 to her senior year in high school. She placed second in the Knights of Columbus West Virginia Free-Throw Championship.
She is also on the volleyball team and has run track all four years. In 2008, she was the Throwers MVP for tack and field, as well as All-Area Potomac Valley Conference for volleyball.
Academically, she is presently taking classes at the Mineral County Technical Center in addition to her classes at KHS.
She has been active in HOSA for four years, having served as vice president last year and president in her senior year. She represented her school in state HOSA competition this year, and was a first place winner.
She has also been a member of the Key Club and Keyser Krazies for four years, ACES for two years, and the Ski Club and Hi-Y for one year each.
Shirley has also volunteered time with Special Olympics, and appeared in the Potomac State College production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”
She is a member of the Keyser Church of the Brethren.
Chelsea Willis, the daughter of Jerry and Jeannie Willis of Keyser, is a four-year member of the KHS soccer team, three-year member of the varsity track team, and one-year member of the cross country team, having served as co-captain of each this year.
She was named All-PVC Cross Country and All-AMAC Cross Country, and earned the KHS Outstanding Senior Runner Award, also for cross country.
Academically, she is salutatorian of her graduating class, and was recently named as a Goldsworthy Scholar and 2009 WVU Bucklew Scholar.
She is also a member of the National Honor Society, the National Technical Honor Society, and the Mu Alpha Theta Math Honorary.
Earlier this year, she was chosen and served as marshal at Gov. Joe Manchin's inauguration in Charleston.
Willis has been active in ACES, where she is secretary/historian, the Keyser Krazies, Hi-Y, Student Council, DECA, Students for Change Tolerance Club, the Going Green Club, and the Debate Club.
She currently serves as editor-in-chief of the Hi-Times student newspaper.
She has also volunteered time with Energy Express, the Piedmont After School program, and Relay for Life, among others.
The winner of the Katharine M. Church Award will be announced during the traditional awards banquet scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 22, at the Wind Lea Conference Center.
