May 28, 2026
Congratulations to Chali Yang ’26, who has been awarded the prestigious Gustavus Premiere Music Scholarship from Gustavus Adolphus College, earning $25,000 annually—a total of $100,000 over four years—after a competitive audition process. The college awards just one scholarship of its kind each year, and this is the first time a MPA student has received the honor.
For Yang, this represents years of discipline, persistence, and artistic growth.
“I think this scholarship is really a validation of all the hours I’ve put into practicing my instrument over the years, and especially through this absolutely rigorous audition process,” Yang said. “I feel a sense of calm now that it’s all over, and I feel like all the time I put into it was really worth it.”
Yang said guidance from MPA music faculty, including Upper School band director Renae Wantock and Middle School band director Lukas Skrove, helped shape his approach during the audition process. Read More
Upper School students at Mounds Park Academy dedicate tremendous time and energy to their work, embodying the values that make our community proud. In recognition of their accomplishments, MPA held the Upper School Awards Assembly on Friday, May 22, in the Nicholson Center. The event celebrated students who earned distinctions in areas such as Academics, National Merit, Scholarships, Yearbook, Choir, Band, Orchestra, Visual Art, Math, English, Science, Social Studies, Forensics, French, Spanish, Drama, Athletics, the Spirit of ’86, Certificates of Distinction, and the Alumni Association. Join us in congratulating these outstanding students! 
Every year, Upper School Applied Painting students at Mounds Park Academy paint a piano together. The first piano was painted in 2012, making this the 14th annual piano! The painted pianos are part of an ongoing partnership between the MPA Art Department and Keys 4/4 Kids, a local non-profit that refurbishes pianos and supports art and music programs in under-resourced communities.
This message is from MPA’s Office of Admission from the November 25, 2025 issue of InsideMPA. 
This message is from MPA’s Office of Admission from the October 27, 2025 issue of InsideMPA. 
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It had been a handful of months since Mounds Park Academy Middle and Upper School visual arts teacher Renee Sonka learned that she had been nominated for a prestigious honor—Art Educator of the Year.
Upper School students at Mounds Park Academy dedicate tremendous time and energy to their work, embodying the values that make our community proud. In recognition of their accomplishments, MPA held the Upper School Awards Assembly on Friday, May 23 in the Nicholson Center. The event celebrated students who earned distinctions in areas such as Academics, National Merit, Scholarships, Yearbook, Choir, Band, Orchestra, Visual Art, Math, English, Science, Social Studies, Forensics, French, Spanish, Drama, Athletics, the Spirit of ’86, Certificates of Distinction, and the Alumni Association. Join us in congratulating these outstanding students! 
Approaching the end of their final year roaming the halls of MPA as students, we had the honor of interviewing many of the MPA Class of 2025 Lifers about their experiences at MPA, the only school they’ve attended for their entire academic careers.