7th-grader, Kennedy Dawson, Learns a New Language, Creates Art and Codes Websites

Virginia “Kennedy” Dawson, known by most as Kennedy, is new to PA Distance as of the 2020-2021 school year. Kennedy decided to enroll at PA Distance after searching for an online education that worked best for her and her family. She loves art and when she graduates she wants to be a digital artist and possibly pursue a career in animation. 

“Kennedy Dawson was one of the most successful students in my 7th-grade art class.  She maximized her natural artistic talent through experimentation with multiple solutions such as various preliminary sketches. She was very self-disciplined and promptly submitted all of her assignments on time, and she was very open to my suggestions and those of her classmates,” Kennedy’s Art teacher, Mrs. Lawrence, said. 

In her free time, Kennedy creates digital artwork on her iPad at home and uses a stylus as a drawing tool. She is also a member of the Sketchbook Club where she and her fellow classmates learn about different art techniques like collaging, drawing different words, and abstract art. 

“Miss Dawson’s cooperative work ethic is much more mature and developed than many other students her age. She shows the same attributes in Sketchbook Club. She has the tenacity and talent to succeed in such a competitive career,” Mrs. Lawrence added. 

Kennedy has also taken the opportunity to learn about Computer Science in the new Computing Ideas class with Ms. Azzaro. 

“I thought it would be really cool to learn about computers since we use them so much,” Kennedy said. “We made websites and learned how to structure them and the HTML behind making them. It’s really fun.” 

Kennedy is also a member of the American Sign Language (ASL) Club where she gets the unique opportunity to learn sign language alongside her peers. 

“I think learning another language that is different from ours is really important,” Kennedy explained. 

“Kennedy has done an amazing job in her first year at PA Distance. She jumped at the chance to work with other students in peer mentoring and has done an amazing job,” Kennedy’s School Counselor, Mrs. Protho said. “I am extremely proud of her hard work and I can't wait to see what she does next!”

“I like that there is so much that is possible at PA Distance even though it’s all online,” she explained.