Ricks Center for Gifted Children
Nurturing passions with younger generations, instilling lifelong learning.
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2025
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Beckett’s passion: Ballet
Beckett discovered his love for dance at the age of six after trying nearly every sport available to him—football, soccer, basketball, and tennis—none of which lit him up the way dance does. After exploring several dance styles, including jazz, tap, contemporary, and modern, Beckett found his heart in ballet. Now, at ten years old, he trains an impressive 18 hours each week and has been invited to compete at a national ballet competition with over 250 young dancers from across the country. Though nervous, Beckett lights up on stage and says performing is one of his favorite parts of dance.
What Beckett is pursuing:
Beckett dreams of expanding his ballet training beyond his home state, exploring opportunities to learn from top programs across the U.S.—and even internationally. He has been accepted to The Rock School for Dance Education in Philadelphia, where he received a full scholarship for tuition. With his talent, dedication, and boundless enthusiasm for ballet, Beckett is eager to leap into the next chapter of his dance journey.
Beckett discovered his love for dance at the age of six after trying nearly every sport available to him—football, soccer, basketball, and tennis—none of which lit him up the way dance does. After exploring several dance styles, including jazz, tap, contemporary, and modern, Beckett found his heart in ballet. Now, at ten years old, he trains an impressive 18 hours each week and has been invited to compete at a national ballet competition with over 250 young dancers from across the country. Though nervous, Beckett lights up on stage and says performing is one of his favorite parts of dance.
What Beckett is pursuing:
Beckett dreams of expanding his ballet training beyond his home state, exploring opportunities to learn from top programs across the U.S.—and even internationally. He has been accepted to The Rock School for Dance Education in Philadelphia, where he received a full scholarship for tuition. With his talent, dedication, and boundless enthusiasm for ballet, Beckett is eager to leap into the next chapter of his dance journey.
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2024
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Sophie’s passion: Figure Drawing
Sophie has always had quite an interest in figure drawing, and especially so right now. She enjoys finding the right proportions for each and every figure she draws and enjoys studying the vast shapes and sizes of the human body. She doesn’t shy away from the challenge of muscle detail; instead, they intrigue her allowing her to examine how they are shaped and how they are able to move. Sophie is ready to take her passion to the next level, looking to give new life to her drawings by expanding her skills.
What Sophie is pursuing:
Sophie has a thirst to learn and to expand her skills from professors and classes to become more proficient with fine detail. She will be looking into partnering with a mentor for ongoing guidance on how to grow her drawing ability. With her expanded proficiency Sophie would like to produce commissioned drawings that eventually allow her to pay forward support of passion pursuits for others!
Sophie has always had quite an interest in figure drawing, and especially so right now. She enjoys finding the right proportions for each and every figure she draws and enjoys studying the vast shapes and sizes of the human body. She doesn’t shy away from the challenge of muscle detail; instead, they intrigue her allowing her to examine how they are shaped and how they are able to move. Sophie is ready to take her passion to the next level, looking to give new life to her drawings by expanding her skills.
What Sophie is pursuing:
Sophie has a thirst to learn and to expand her skills from professors and classes to become more proficient with fine detail. She will be looking into partnering with a mentor for ongoing guidance on how to grow her drawing ability. With her expanded proficiency Sophie would like to produce commissioned drawings that eventually allow her to pay forward support of passion pursuits for others!
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2023
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Lauren’s passion: Birdwatching
Lauren first took up birdwatching three years ago during the pandemic. Her curiosity has grown along with her ability to identify new birds. Her skillset has become so instinctive she can identify many species of bird at first sight. Lauren has always loved nature, but her passion of birds took flight while quarantined; as she likes to put it, she was feeling cooped up and watching birds gave her the chance to spread her own wings!
What Lauren is pursuing:
With so many different types of birds, Lauren is eager to expand her “life list” of all the birds that she has seen. She plans to expand that list by attending a weekend retreat with day long guided bird tours. In addition, there are plans to experience one of the greatest migrations in the region by visiting Kearney Nebraska for the annual Sandhill Crane migration in the spring. The spring migration is estimated to reach over 1,000,000 Sandhill Cranes on their way northward to their nesting grounds.
Lauren first took up birdwatching three years ago during the pandemic. Her curiosity has grown along with her ability to identify new birds. Her skillset has become so instinctive she can identify many species of bird at first sight. Lauren has always loved nature, but her passion of birds took flight while quarantined; as she likes to put it, she was feeling cooped up and watching birds gave her the chance to spread her own wings!
What Lauren is pursuing:
With so many different types of birds, Lauren is eager to expand her “life list” of all the birds that she has seen. She plans to expand that list by attending a weekend retreat with day long guided bird tours. In addition, there are plans to experience one of the greatest migrations in the region by visiting Kearney Nebraska for the annual Sandhill Crane migration in the spring. The spring migration is estimated to reach over 1,000,000 Sandhill Cranes on their way northward to their nesting grounds.
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2022
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Conrad’s passion: Typeface Design
Conrad has always been interested in the importance of good design, from architecture to typeface design. When Conrad was four, he started to become particularly interested in signs and the informative design of text. Conrad has said “It’s very important to me that something is made well and does its purpose. Words and communication especially have resonated with me.” A few years ago, he started to develop a deeper passion specifically in the art of designing a font for a specific use. The choice for readability, aesthetic, or to convey an idea or agenda makes a world of difference for any printed or displayed text. Good design is essential to proper communication within our society.
What Conrad is pursuing:
Every font has its own back-story, and every type designer has an intention for their idea when it goes out into the world. Conrad’s passion is leading him to research and develop his own typeface. His goal is to create a way to express his ideas through a newly created typeface. To accomplish this, he will be journeying to Monotype Imaging, an American company that specializes in digital typesetting typeface design, located near Boston Massachusetts. There Conrad will see examples of the deeply rooted history of type design and innovation!
Conrad's results:
Conrad had a wonderful presentation that detailed his work with Monotype Imaging. Check out some of his presentation below:
Learn more about monotype imaging:
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2021
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Evan’s passion: World War II
Ever since Evan was in kindergarten at the Ricks Center, he has displayed and interest in history, specifically World War II. While most kids his age are intrenched in war video games, Evan has been stepping back in time and learning all that he can about one of the most significant events in history. His curiosity has focused on many aspects of the war including, strategic planning, the soldiers experience, weaponry, and the impact on civilizations. Evan hopes to broaden in overall knowledge of this monumental era in time and share his passion with others along the way!
What Evan is pursuing:
Evan’s end goal is to expand his overall knowledge of World War II and develop a formal presentation that would include an electronic game to educate others while having fun. Sharing the knowledge of this event is important to Evan so he will be taking his classmates on a field trip to the National Museum of World War II Aviation in Colorado Springs. In addition, Evan will follow his quest and visit The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana. The journey to New Orleans will also include a visit to the Tuskegee Airman National Historic Site that commemorates the contributions of African-American airmen in World War II.
Ever since Evan was in kindergarten at the Ricks Center, he has displayed and interest in history, specifically World War II. While most kids his age are intrenched in war video games, Evan has been stepping back in time and learning all that he can about one of the most significant events in history. His curiosity has focused on many aspects of the war including, strategic planning, the soldiers experience, weaponry, and the impact on civilizations. Evan hopes to broaden in overall knowledge of this monumental era in time and share his passion with others along the way!
What Evan is pursuing:
Evan’s end goal is to expand his overall knowledge of World War II and develop a formal presentation that would include an electronic game to educate others while having fun. Sharing the knowledge of this event is important to Evan so he will be taking his classmates on a field trip to the National Museum of World War II Aviation in Colorado Springs. In addition, Evan will follow his quest and visit The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana. The journey to New Orleans will also include a visit to the Tuskegee Airman National Historic Site that commemorates the contributions of African-American airmen in World War II.
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2020
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CJ's passion: Sports Cinematography
CJ Conty has been skiing since he was 18 months old, but his love for the sport was cemented when he began competing as a mountain skier. The most recent development in his growing passion for mountain skiing was when he was introduced to sports cinematography. He has since delved into a multimedia process as he learns how to capture the perfect angle and works on mastering video editing!
What CJ pursued:
CJ is pursuing to expand his capability as a sports cinematographer by collecting footage of him and his teammates as well as grow as a video editor by syncing the best footage with the perfect music! As his video editing and sports cinematography skills grow so does his passion for his sport. Through sports cinematography CJ is able to showcase the sport he loves to friends, family and beyond as well as giving him and his teammates an opportunity to review their practice which helps them master new jumps and tricks. Through this process CJ has also gained confidence both in front of and behind the camera! His goal is to finish collecting footage by the end of 2021's ski season and have a finished video before he starts high school August 2021.
CJ Conty has been skiing since he was 18 months old, but his love for the sport was cemented when he began competing as a mountain skier. The most recent development in his growing passion for mountain skiing was when he was introduced to sports cinematography. He has since delved into a multimedia process as he learns how to capture the perfect angle and works on mastering video editing!
What CJ pursued:
CJ is pursuing to expand his capability as a sports cinematographer by collecting footage of him and his teammates as well as grow as a video editor by syncing the best footage with the perfect music! As his video editing and sports cinematography skills grow so does his passion for his sport. Through sports cinematography CJ is able to showcase the sport he loves to friends, family and beyond as well as giving him and his teammates an opportunity to review their practice which helps them master new jumps and tricks. Through this process CJ has also gained confidence both in front of and behind the camera! His goal is to finish collecting footage by the end of 2021's ski season and have a finished video before he starts high school August 2021.
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2019
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Beau and Bex's passion: Lacrosse
Brothers Beau and Bex Blaesing grew up with a shared passion for Lacrosse. As a family sport they were nurtured from a very young age by their parents to have an interest in Lacrosse and to explore their physical abilities as well as their knowledge of the oldest organized sport in North America. As they began playing competitively, their interest in the sport grew immensely; to the point that they wanted to share their love of Lacrosse with other kids!
What Beau and Bex pursued:
Beau and Bex discovered an abundance of material about Lacrosse available through social media. They found plenty of YouTube videos about the sport specifically targeted for adults. But they wanted to share their vision of the sport from a kid’s perspective and directed for kids to learn about the sport! They set off to create a series of Lacrosse videos for kids their age or younger. Or so they hoped…….
In the midst of their pursuit, the brothers were caught in the eye of the COVID storm that quarantined the world. Their plans of producing Lacrosse videos for kids were drastically altered in ways they couldn’t have expected. While their end experience was not what they planned for, their experience was possibly more profound. They learned how to improvise and redirect their passion and to still be able to learn from what they were able to accomplish. They ended up completing an instructional cooking video for a local restaurant and helped meet a marketing need for the restaurant. Passion and determination, go hand in hand!
Brothers Beau and Bex Blaesing grew up with a shared passion for Lacrosse. As a family sport they were nurtured from a very young age by their parents to have an interest in Lacrosse and to explore their physical abilities as well as their knowledge of the oldest organized sport in North America. As they began playing competitively, their interest in the sport grew immensely; to the point that they wanted to share their love of Lacrosse with other kids!
What Beau and Bex pursued:
Beau and Bex discovered an abundance of material about Lacrosse available through social media. They found plenty of YouTube videos about the sport specifically targeted for adults. But they wanted to share their vision of the sport from a kid’s perspective and directed for kids to learn about the sport! They set off to create a series of Lacrosse videos for kids their age or younger. Or so they hoped…….
In the midst of their pursuit, the brothers were caught in the eye of the COVID storm that quarantined the world. Their plans of producing Lacrosse videos for kids were drastically altered in ways they couldn’t have expected. While their end experience was not what they planned for, their experience was possibly more profound. They learned how to improvise and redirect their passion and to still be able to learn from what they were able to accomplish. They ended up completing an instructional cooking video for a local restaurant and helped meet a marketing need for the restaurant. Passion and determination, go hand in hand!
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2018
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Caroline's passion: Baking
Caroline Berg was a student at the Ricks Center for 10 years, and had a passion for baking throughout those years. Her passion was built during her primary school years as she helped her parents bake family recipes until she was able to take on the kitchen herself to practice cake decorating and baking of her favorite treats. In her seventh grade year, Caroline applied to the Shannon B. Jones Passion Pursuit award with the intention to grow her knowledge and skills.
What Caroline pursued:
After receiving the award, Caroline was offered help from various bakers in the community, which was a great beginning to expanding her knowledge. Caroline also took a few day long classes through various sources which helped her learn and practice challenging techniques, such as French desserts and doughnuts.
The most valuable experience Caroline took part in was a week long intensive baking camp which focused on things such as laminated dough (croissants, danishes, etc.) custards, candy and more! To share her passion with the community, Caroline provided cupcakes and macarons for the annual Picnic. She used a recipe of her own for the macarons, and used homemade candy on the cupcakes.
To this day, Caroline uses her knowledge and experience gained through her Passion Pursuit to create treats for friend's and family's birthdays and events. She continues to challenge herself and her personal favorite bake is her Strawberry Tart!
Caroline Berg was a student at the Ricks Center for 10 years, and had a passion for baking throughout those years. Her passion was built during her primary school years as she helped her parents bake family recipes until she was able to take on the kitchen herself to practice cake decorating and baking of her favorite treats. In her seventh grade year, Caroline applied to the Shannon B. Jones Passion Pursuit award with the intention to grow her knowledge and skills.
What Caroline pursued:
After receiving the award, Caroline was offered help from various bakers in the community, which was a great beginning to expanding her knowledge. Caroline also took a few day long classes through various sources which helped her learn and practice challenging techniques, such as French desserts and doughnuts.
The most valuable experience Caroline took part in was a week long intensive baking camp which focused on things such as laminated dough (croissants, danishes, etc.) custards, candy and more! To share her passion with the community, Caroline provided cupcakes and macarons for the annual Picnic. She used a recipe of her own for the macarons, and used homemade candy on the cupcakes.
To this day, Caroline uses her knowledge and experience gained through her Passion Pursuit to create treats for friend's and family's birthdays and events. She continues to challenge herself and her personal favorite bake is her Strawberry Tart!
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2017
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Angelina's passion: Fashion Design
For Angelina, Shannon was a source of inspiration as she encouraged and supported Angelina’s self-expression through creativity, and over time Angelina discovered her passion for fashion. With her passion Angelina began teaching herself how to sketch and design clothing, she researched different fabrics and textiles, sought after sewing lessons, attended fashion camps, and connected with screen printing companies, local fashion designers and manufacturers in order to expand her knowledge of fashion design and what it would take to bring her designs to life as her long term goal is to have her own fashion label.
What Angelina pursued: Designing a T-shirt Line
Angelina started by designing a line of t-shirts for young teen girls with the hopes to branch out into dresses. And after her t-shirt line proved to be successful she did just that and began making dress and outfits for her sister, fashion camp, and charity. Angelina also attended a class at the Daniels College of Business, Gateway to Business, and even went to Los Angeles, California to attend the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandizing for a summer intensive. Thanks to these classes Angelina was able to learn what it would take to achieve her goal of creating her own fashion line with a business perspective as well as developing and practicing the necessary skills as a designer.
Angelina's results:
Angelina had a beautiful presentation that detailed her work T-shirt line. Check out some of her presentation below:
For Angelina, Shannon was a source of inspiration as she encouraged and supported Angelina’s self-expression through creativity, and over time Angelina discovered her passion for fashion. With her passion Angelina began teaching herself how to sketch and design clothing, she researched different fabrics and textiles, sought after sewing lessons, attended fashion camps, and connected with screen printing companies, local fashion designers and manufacturers in order to expand her knowledge of fashion design and what it would take to bring her designs to life as her long term goal is to have her own fashion label.
What Angelina pursued: Designing a T-shirt Line
Angelina started by designing a line of t-shirts for young teen girls with the hopes to branch out into dresses. And after her t-shirt line proved to be successful she did just that and began making dress and outfits for her sister, fashion camp, and charity. Angelina also attended a class at the Daniels College of Business, Gateway to Business, and even went to Los Angeles, California to attend the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandizing for a summer intensive. Thanks to these classes Angelina was able to learn what it would take to achieve her goal of creating her own fashion line with a business perspective as well as developing and practicing the necessary skills as a designer.
Angelina's results:
Angelina had a beautiful presentation that detailed her work T-shirt line. Check out some of her presentation below:
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2017
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Alessa's passion: Creative writing
Alessa Kust is a person who values loyalty and honesty in her relationships, who despises those who undermine others for reasons of personal gain, and who possesses a nascent understanding of how others sometimes manipulate personal loyalty and affection to attain power over their peers. She is blessed with a vivid imagination, a broad and deep vocabulary, and in innate sense of story structure. She also has a firm grasp of the truth that plot drives the pace and architecture of a fictional narrative.
What Alessa pursued:
Over the course of ten months, Alessa wrote a novella entitled Rivermills that when completed will probably be about eighty pages in length, or sixteen thousand words. After debating various time periods and locations, she decided to set her story in a seaside village in Ireland during World War I, specifically in 1916. The year is significant because it was also the Time of Troubles, when Catholic and Protestant Irish were are war with one another. Alessa chose one teenaged protagonist, a privileged Anglo-Irish girl growing up in luxury, and her foil—Lizzie, a poor Irish Catholic girl roughly the same age who serves as Hazel’s maid. The goal was to examine in the story the contrasts and conflicts between religion, social class and nationality, with one important common theme: Both girls are orphaned during war and navigating their joint world alone.
Alessa Kust is a person who values loyalty and honesty in her relationships, who despises those who undermine others for reasons of personal gain, and who possesses a nascent understanding of how others sometimes manipulate personal loyalty and affection to attain power over their peers. She is blessed with a vivid imagination, a broad and deep vocabulary, and in innate sense of story structure. She also has a firm grasp of the truth that plot drives the pace and architecture of a fictional narrative.
What Alessa pursued:
Over the course of ten months, Alessa wrote a novella entitled Rivermills that when completed will probably be about eighty pages in length, or sixteen thousand words. After debating various time periods and locations, she decided to set her story in a seaside village in Ireland during World War I, specifically in 1916. The year is significant because it was also the Time of Troubles, when Catholic and Protestant Irish were are war with one another. Alessa chose one teenaged protagonist, a privileged Anglo-Irish girl growing up in luxury, and her foil—Lizzie, a poor Irish Catholic girl roughly the same age who serves as Hazel’s maid. The goal was to examine in the story the contrasts and conflicts between religion, social class and nationality, with one important common theme: Both girls are orphaned during war and navigating their joint world alone.
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2016
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Emily's passion: Communication through filmaking
Emily Amspoker is an avid photographer and filmmaker that has had interest making films for many years. She has supported her passion by being a member of the Denver Film Society (DFS) Young Filmmaker's Workshop. It was there that her passion began to be noticed by Scott Kinnamon, director of the workshop. She is truly passionate about film making as a form of communication and expression.
What Emily pursued:
As part of her passion for filmmaking, Emily is creating a documentary that will focus on the digital divide in education, specifically in Colorado. For her documentary she is interviewing a number of teachers, students and experts in the field of education with a perspective on how digital communication is playing a part in Colorado education. Her goal is to have her documentary tentatively completed to present before the end of the school year, with the intent of entering the completed documentary in the National Film Youth Festival in October, located this year in Seattle.
Emily Amspoker is an avid photographer and filmmaker that has had interest making films for many years. She has supported her passion by being a member of the Denver Film Society (DFS) Young Filmmaker's Workshop. It was there that her passion began to be noticed by Scott Kinnamon, director of the workshop. She is truly passionate about film making as a form of communication and expression.
What Emily pursued:
As part of her passion for filmmaking, Emily is creating a documentary that will focus on the digital divide in education, specifically in Colorado. For her documentary she is interviewing a number of teachers, students and experts in the field of education with a perspective on how digital communication is playing a part in Colorado education. Her goal is to have her documentary tentatively completed to present before the end of the school year, with the intent of entering the completed documentary in the National Film Youth Festival in October, located this year in Seattle.
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2015
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Claire's passion: Creative Writing
Shannon personally witnessed Claire’s propensity for creative writing first hand. From early on she watched Claire’s growing passion ignite, which was propelled and supported by Barbara’s own love for creative writing. Shannon recognized the benefit for Claire to be immersed in words and the support she would be able to get working with Barbara. It was a gift for both Claire and Barbara to be able to share a love for creative writing that extended beyond teaching a student to be expressive. Claire’s passion for writing has also been fueled by her love of all things Harry Potter, especially the genius of J. K. Rowling. It is uncanny that Shannon also loved the Harry Potter series, as well.
What Claire pursued:
Since last summer, Claire has attended an advanced writer’s camp at Lighthouse Writer’s Workshop, and continued her weekly writing sessions with Barbara. Claire is presently working on a novel, with the intentions of giving thanks and gratitude to Shannon B. Jones in the acknowledgements. Time is also being put into the planning of events to spark inspiration and motivate Claire’s writing as she visits London, to view Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Part I & II as well as other literary landmarks.
None of this would be possible if not for Shannon’s insight and ability to tap into the gift of one’s passion and creativity. This has been a miraculous year of giving back for Claire and one that will be cherished for life. Thank you Shannon.
Shannon personally witnessed Claire’s propensity for creative writing first hand. From early on she watched Claire’s growing passion ignite, which was propelled and supported by Barbara’s own love for creative writing. Shannon recognized the benefit for Claire to be immersed in words and the support she would be able to get working with Barbara. It was a gift for both Claire and Barbara to be able to share a love for creative writing that extended beyond teaching a student to be expressive. Claire’s passion for writing has also been fueled by her love of all things Harry Potter, especially the genius of J. K. Rowling. It is uncanny that Shannon also loved the Harry Potter series, as well.
What Claire pursued:
Since last summer, Claire has attended an advanced writer’s camp at Lighthouse Writer’s Workshop, and continued her weekly writing sessions with Barbara. Claire is presently working on a novel, with the intentions of giving thanks and gratitude to Shannon B. Jones in the acknowledgements. Time is also being put into the planning of events to spark inspiration and motivate Claire’s writing as she visits London, to view Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Part I & II as well as other literary landmarks.
None of this would be possible if not for Shannon’s insight and ability to tap into the gift of one’s passion and creativity. This has been a miraculous year of giving back for Claire and one that will be cherished for life. Thank you Shannon.