July 31, 2014—For the first time ever, a student in the UO’s Piano Pedagogy Program has won a national award.
Asia Wooten, a 16-year old high school student at Eugene’s Oak Hill School, won the gold medal at the 2014 NAACP National ACT-SO (Academic, Cultural, Technological, Scientific Olympics) Competition in Las Vegas on July 20.
Asia, who began her UO piano studies at the remarkably young age of four, is a student in the UO’s Piano Pedagogy Program, which is directed by Associate Professor Claire Wachter. Asia's teacher is Michael Seregow.
Asia competed with hundreds of talented students nationwide, earning the gold medal and a $2000 award for her classical piano performance of Debussy’s Clair de Lune.
ACT-SO is an NAACP youth program designed to encourage high academic and cultural achievement among high school students of African descent.