04/29/2026
Marion High School Alumni Association congratulates this year’s winners of the MHSAA F. Ritchie Walton Arts Scholarship: Elijah Inskeep, Lillian Weaver, Kaylah Spaulding, and Zoey Wayman, all members of Marion High School’s Class of 2026.
This scholarship honors Marion High School students for their accomplishments and involvement in arts education, and their plans to pursue a career in the arts. In total, $1,750 was awarded this year.
The MHSAA F. Ritchie Walton Endowment for the Arts was established in 2021, combining the MHSAA Giant Arts Endowment, founded in 2015, and the F. Ritchie Walton Endowment, founded in 2002 in honor of innovative music educator F. Ritchie Walton, who put Marion High School on the map with excellent music and theatre programs. Walton’s legacy lives on in the performing arts center named for him at Marion High School.
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Kaylah Spaulding, $500 scholarship winner
Kaylah is also a student of the CSA Arts Academy, an exclusive partnership between the Marion Community School of the Arts (CSA) and Marion Community Schools that provides pre-professional arts training along with the benefits of a traditional public school.
Kaylah is a member of the CSA Theatre compANY, a rigorous pre-professional program through Marion CSA, which offers training in theatrical performance and tech, dance, and vocal and acting technique, including multiple methodologies. She also has served as a mentor for younger theatre students. Through the theatre company, he has been in the cast of more than 10 productions, many of which have been part of the Student Performance Series which offers free shows for area school groups — meaning she has performed in front of thousands of local students over the years.
She is a member of the International Thespian Society (the theatre honor society) Troupe 12404 at CSA. She earned a Superior rating in duet musical theatre in the Thespy Awards at the International Thespian Festival, where she was selected for the Grace Kelly Training Scholarship.
She has also participated in the Disney Imagination Campus program, completing the Disney Broadway Magic and Disney Immersive Storytelling workshops. She earned the Best Actress Award at the Envision Film Festival at Taylor University, and she was selected for University of North Carolina School of the Arts’ Summer Drama Intensive.
Kaylah plans to attend the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music to obtain a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree in acting. She is planning to enroll in a conservatory training program and is still comparing college offers. Her career goal is to be a professional performer, and she is also considering applied theater, which uses theatrical practices in non-traditional settings to address social issues and promote change.
Kaylah is a 2026 recipient of the F. Ritchie Walton Scholarship, facilitated by the Marion High School Alumni Association, a $500 award.
>> Learn more about the 2026 MHSAA scholarship winners: https://mhsalum.com/mhsaa-presents-37000-in-scholarships-to-mhs-seniors/
