Free State High School’s forensics team dominated the speech and debate national qualifier, winning all four sweepstakes awards and seeing nine students punch their tickets to the national tournament. Lawrence High qualified seven students for nationals.
University of Kansas juniors Cecilia Paranjothi, of Lawrence, and Kit Savoy, of Olathe, have been chosen as Goldwater Scholars.
Free State High School junior Anwen Williams has reached a prestigious milestone after scoring in more than 375 rounds of speech and debate competition so far.
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
Free State High School senior La’Ron Williams has won second place in the 2024 Boys & Girls Club Kansas Youth of the Year competition.
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
Free State High School senior La’Ron Williams has been named the 2024 Lawrence Youth of the Year.
Courtesy photos
Three candidates will give speeches Thursday in front of family, friends and community members, and one will be selected as the 2024 Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence Youth of the Year.
Sophie Racy, Free State High School senior, has earned the National Speech and Debate Association’s highest honor, and she’s the state’s first three-time qualifier for the Tournament of Champions.
Groups of students at Hillcrest Elementary and at Free State High School each have a chance to see their vision for a new exhibit at Science City brought to life as finalists in the ”Battle of the Brains” contest.
The Lied Center has named Terence Blanchard, Grammy Award-winning composer and trumpeter, and Melissa Smith, assistant director of bands at Free State High School and West Middle School, as this season’s IMPACT Award winners.
Carter Gaskins/Lawrence Times
As the sun set behind the Free State High School press box on Wednesday night, the light created a backdrop nearly as beautiful as graduate speaker Solie Edison’s speech to his fellow graduates.
