Kendra Barnhart

2023 Recipient


Kendra Barnhart with mother Nicole and father Brian Barnhart, Chair of the
CHS Visual and Performing Arts Department and Director of CHS Drama

ONTARIO, Calif., April 19, 2023 – Chaffey High School 2023 graduating senior Kendra Barnhart has won the Rapattoni Drama Scholarship and will receive a $1500 dollar scholarship for Outstanding Performance and Dedication in Chaffey High School Theatre.

According to Nathaniel Brown, Choir teacher, Aaron Anderson, Drama teacher, and Brian Barnhart, Chair of the Visual and Performing Arts Department and Director of CHS Drama, “Kendra was selected for this recognition due to her scholarship, theatrical talent, commitment, and dedication to the productions at Chaffey High School.” Kendra ranks 194th of 786 seniors at Chaffey High School and has a 3.5 grade point average.

Brian continued by recalling, “Kendra’s first role for us at Chaffey Theatre Company was the Salt Girl Dancer in Oklahoma; Kendra was a 7th grader at the time. As an 8th grader, she was in the Ensemble of Elf Jr. The Musical. As a freshman in the fall of 2019, Kendra portrayed Aristia the Mersister in Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Kendra was featured in the cast of The Best of Broadway, a spring 2021 virtual showcase streaming on YouTube. In the fall of 2021, Kendra portrayed the lovable Sally Brown in the musical You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, performed outside the GWS Auditorium, the first show to be performed outside in 21 years. In the spring of 2022, Kendra portrayed Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family: “A New Musical Comedy.” In the fall of 2022, she roller-skated into our hearts as the Greek muse Keira in the musical Xanadu. And for her final production at Chaffey, she will be taking on the role of Audrey in the Spring 2023 show Little Shop Of Horrors.

Obtaining the rank of Thespian President in Chaffey’s International Thespian Society Troupe 5535, Ms. Barnhart is a well-seasoned performer, having entertained over 35,292 patrons of Chaffey Theatre since first stepping onto the stage at the age of 13.

This is the 12th annual scholarship provided by Niki Brown Rapattoni, CHS class of 1958, and her husband, the late Andy Rapattoni, CHS class of 1957.

The two of them met in the Gardiner W. Spring Auditorium in 1956 while attending their senior play. The high school sweethearts were married 57 years and are avid supporters of the CHS Alumni Association and Chaffey Theatre. Andy was the 2010 CHS Alumni Tiger of the Year and spoke at that years’ Baccalaureate ceremony and Niki was selected as the 2020 Tiger of the Year and was the first to video record her speech for the graduates due to the Covid mandates preventing a live ceremony. When asked about the scholarship, co-benefactor Niki replied, “Our Rapattoni family are thrilled to provide this scholarship to Kendra Barnhart, a deserving CHS graduating student who has excelled in Drama and plans to continue her pursuit in the Performing Arts and Biology at Vanguard University.”

Brian Barnhart and CHS faculty are very grateful for the support and dedication the Rapattonis have gifted the program over the years and Brian remarked, “They walked these grounds in the ‘50s, and began a lifetime of ‘paying it forward’ to our talented performers. Kendra is a most deserving recipient of this annual scholarship and I know she will repay it forward just as other benefactors have.”

Kendra is the daughter of proud parents Brian and Nicole Barnhart of Red Hill, CA; and has been accepted to Vanguard University in Costa Mesa where she will double major in science and theater starting in August. She has been added to the list of Rapattoni Drama Scholarship recipients: 2012-Gabriel Navarro; 2013-Vincent LaVigna; 2014-Jade Winter White; 2015-Jonathan Guevara; 2016-Adam Granados; 2017-Anthony Nelson; 2018-Ashley Flores; 2019-Jasmine Padilla; 2020-Zohary Gonzalez; 2021-Tiffany Silvas; 2022-Marcel Almirantearena; 2023-Kendra Barnhart.

Past Recipients:

2022

Marcel Almirantearena

2021

Tiffany Silvas

2020

Zohary Gonzalez

2019

Jasmine Padilla

2018

Ashley Flores

2017

Anthony Nelson

2016

Adam Granados

2015

Jonathan Guevara

2014

Jade Winter White

2013

Vincent LaVigna

2012

Gabriel Navarro