Immaculate Conception Cathedral School senior
Briana Brown was one of just 12 young people from across the country who shared
the stage on Monday, Nov. 10 with First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House
to accept the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award. Briana represented the New Ballet Ensemble,
along with NBE director Katie Smythe. Briana, who began attending the NBE at
the age of 7, will appear in the Nut Remix production later this month at the
Cannon Center.
The award recognizes the country’s best
creative youth development programs for using engagement in the arts and
the humanities to increase academic achievement, graduation rates,
and college enrollment. First presented in 1998, the National Arts
and Humanities Youth Program Award is the signature program of the
President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH).
The awards are presented annually in partnership with the National
Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Endowment for the
Humanities (NEH), and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IML).