22 / 24
for singing and acting,” says theater director April
Corbett, who promptly tapped him for the lead as
Captain Von Trapp.
Says his father: “Both are new experiences for him
and things that he would not have tried had it not
been for his tragic injury. It is a great message of hope
and unseen opportunity being just beyond what we
can visualize.”
So the guy who had spent most of his life reading
the X’s and O’s of offenses
and defenses now found
himself learning the
language of notes on a page
and directions on stage. He
devoted himself to the work
while catching up
academically on all the
weeks of school he missed,
and rehabilitating his leg so
that, by the final week of
lacrosse season, he was
strong enough to play on the field.
So what’s in store for A.J. his senior year at
Roanoke Catholic? Academically? Athletically?
Artistically? Tough to say.
But now his parents will have an extra $500 to help
pay for it.
At Honors Day on June 8, he was awarded the Zach
Bowyer Scholarship that recognizes “academic
achievement, love of the performing arts, humility,
love of God and fellow man, and a striving for high
ideals with good spirit and optimism.”
Another touchdown for A.J. Bennett.
- Michael Hemphill
Posing with fellow juniors of the RCS Celtic Singers, A.J. was a soloist when
the choir competed in Williamsburg’s “Music in the Parks” festival March 31.
Back on the lacrosse field in May,
seven months after his injury.