Published on
This page is part of of our 2025 Mizzou Academy Year-in-Review report. Return to the main page here.
Extracurricular Activities. Mizzou Academy hosts 5 extracurricular clubs: National Honor Society; MAST (Mizzou Academy Science Team); Math Team; Girls Who Code; and new in 2025, CAST (Creative Alliance for Student Talent). Extracurricular highlights from 2025 include service impact, science inquiry, and excellence in problem solving.
- Service Impact. In 2025-26, Amelia Howser facilitated our most robust student organization, National Honor Society. We were proud to have 164 students in this prestigious organization this year. These high school students joined us from Brazil, Romania, Turkey, and the United States. National Honor Society members participated in impactful community service projects in their local communities and published our annual community impact magazine.
- Science Inquiry. MAST faculty sponsors Ericca Thornhill and Sherry Denney hosted our inaugural Mizzou Academy Science Fair. This fair highlighted interdisciplinary inquiry, with projects ranging from the physics of ice skating to the neuroscience of bilingualism.
- Excellence in Problem Solving. Under the direction of Math Team Coach Brennan Ransdell, our math team placed first in Missouri in the Purple Comet! Math Meet! In addition to the top marks in the state, the team also outscored 157 teams worldwide. Congratulations, math team members: Berra Demirci, Sian “Courtney” Hwang, Will Fleury, and Rachel Barton.
Inaugural Bixby Scholar Award. In 2025, our founding school counselor, Mrs. Alicia Bixby, retired. She had served Mizzou Academy for nearly 30 years and counseled every graduating class since our first in 1999. To honor her legacy, we announced a new school recognition: the Bixby Scholar Award.
Our inaugural Bixby Scholar Award recipient, Evelyn Kasten, was an active member of our National Honor Society and Mizzou Academy Science Team. Going forward, the Bixby Scholar Award will be presented annually to one University of Missouri High School graduate who exemplifies Mrs. Bixby’s values in service, academics, and extracurricular involvement.
Missouri Scholars Academy (MSA). Mizzou Academy maintained strong connections to the University of Missouri Honors College summer program, Missouri Scholars Academy. MSA is a three-week residential program for gifted students from across Missouri. In 2025, Middle School Coordinator Brian Stuhlman served as the MSA Programming Director, and Executive Director Kathryn Fishman-Weaver served as the MSA Community Service Liaison. Mizzou Academy junior Alex Sienica represented our school as a scholar. At MSA, Alex was selected from among the 330 scholars in attendance to give the closing address. Congratulations, Alex!