Ava Williams 2024 Iconic Legacy Scholarship recipient

Posted May 15, 2024 9:01 am

Submitted by Christine Wastyn

Maine West senior and Des Plaines resident, Ava Williams, has received the 2024 Iconic Legacy Scholarship. The award was presented on May 14, at the Senior Honors Assembly at Maine West High School.

The $1,000 scholarship is privately funded and was established to honor the Class of 2020 ‘s fourth-year members of Maine West’s West Side Dance Company (Orchesis) whose season ended minutes before their last show due to the 2020 pandemic.

Ava Williams is the second recipient of the Iconic Legacy Scholarship.

Christine Wastyn, a Maine West alum and mother of 2020 graduate and West Side Dance Company member, Tess Wastyn, established the scholarship to honor those fourth-year members of the 2020 West Side Dance Company that did not get to finish their season.

The spirit of the scholarship is learning to dance through the rain. The applicants must submit an original choreographed dance number and write an essay regarding what it means to them to turn a bad situation good. Several 2020 West Side Dance Company fourth-year alum serve as judges for the scholarship.

The Iconic Legacy Scholarship was established to honor and give back to a small niche community. The Wastyns are trying to take a negative experience and turn it around to a positive one. The goal is to continue to help the next dancer in line.

Ava Williams really embodied the Iconic Legacy theme of creating triumph out of tragedy. She will continue her education in the fall at Penn State University.

Article Comments

Article Comments

Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.