Emma Jane Lopes, the daughter of a Princeton native and the granddaughter of the well-known “Ham Lady”, has won a highly coveted performing arts award over 220,000 other applicants. She is the daughter of Alisa Jane Mahaffey Lopes and the granddaughter of Nancy Newsom Mahaffey, the owner and operator of Newsom‘s Old Mill Store in downtown Princeton, renowned for its Colonel Bill Newsom‘s Aged Country Hams.
Her proud grandmother, Mahaffey, shared in a social media post that her granddaughter’s story began on a winter day when Emma came up with the idea to spearhead a project to study Alexander Hamilton. Emma, who she noted turned 12 years old in late November, enlisted two other talented 12-year olds for the project that involved a performance skit based on Hamilton. She adds that the skit was not an assignment at the school Emma attends — North Oldham Middle School — but a teacher there “caught wind” that Emma and her friends were working on this “think outside the box” skit from the famed Broadway performance of the musical “Hamilton.”
According to the story, a teacher decided to submit the trio’s Hamilton skit the next day to the prestigious Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History’s EduHam competition for middle and high school students nationwide. During the process, Emma and her partners performed their skit, “People Run — The Lexington and Concord,” for the school. The taped performance was reportedly among 220,000 submitted by students grades 6-12 with 10 winning performances chosen for the award. Mahaffey says her granddaughter, Emma, and her two friends “Won!” the competition. Emma Jane, and her partners each received a free airline ticket to New York City, and all accommodations paid for by the performing art competition. Additionally, they were given free tickets to see the play “Hamilton” and meet the cast performing it.
Mahaffey says Emma Jane is a great source of creative and versatile ideas, coming up with something to work on all the time. She indicates that her granddaughter routinely envisions and designs mock businesses. She says Emma’s artistic and entrepreneurial mind is already onto the next project as soon as one is done. She also notes that Emma most recently was a presenter and winner at the YMCA Kentucky United Nations Assembly held in Louisville.
