Three female students from BU have been nominated by the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival for the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship to honor their roles in The God Committee: senior Cheyenne Queen, junior Taylor Winkler and freshman Haley Roberts.

For Roberts, the nomination came as an unexpected honor because The God Committee was her first performance at Baker.

“When (Patti Heiman) announced me as a nominee, my jaw literally dropped,” Roberts said. “I think I even asked if she was serious. When she said that she was, I think I hopped around a little bit, like a little girl. It was one of the best moments at Baker so far.”

Queen was also taken aback by her nomination.

“I was a little surprised I got a nomination,” Queen said. “My emphasis in theater is stage management and I only act every now and then, so it is truly an honor for me to have received a nomination.”

In January, the three women will attend a competition in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where they will compete against other nominated students from the region.

The two students who win regionals will receive a $500 scholarship and will advance to the national competition in Washington, D.C., for a chance to win a larger scholarship.

“I’m very excited for the competition in January,” Roberts said. “Performing is my favorite thing in the world, and I feel very blessed to be able to do so here.”

Each nominee will be asked to pick a performance partner to work with throughout the competition. Although this will be her first year competing, Queen is not new to the Irene Ryan Acting competition.

“Last year, I was a partner for a nominee,” Queen said. “And this year I am excited to be a nominee and to start the process of choosing scenes and my partner.”

Director Patti Heiman said that the adjudicator chose the three women because they seemed to be lost in their characters and to understand their motives.

Tom Heiman, associate professor of theater, thinks that for this reason, they will do great in the competition.

“One of the traits that’s going to help them a lot in the competition is that they relate well to other people on stage,” Tom Heiman said. “They listen to what people are saying, they respond to what there’re doing…They can communicate as a team.”

Irene Ryan, the inspiration for the scholarship, was best known in her role as the hilarious and lovable Granny Clampett from The Beverly Hillbillies.

“I actually used to watch that show a lot with my parents when I was younger,” Roberts said. “So it seems sort of ironic. I hope to make Granny proud!”