Soete Scholarship Honors Memory of Former STLCC-Meramec Student

Aimee Soete excelled in the theater program at St. Louis Community College-Meramec, inspiring countless other young performing arts students and friends. 

Soete, described as “a force of light, art and joy,” passed away in November 2022 at the age of 42. In her memory, family members have established the Aimee Soete Memorial Scholarship in Performing Arts. Students currently enrolled in a performing or visual arts class at Meramec may apply for the scholarship. The award will be up to $500 per student, per semester. The St. Louis Community College Foundation is accepting applications for this scholarship until the March 24 deadline.

Soete was nominated multiple times for the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship competition. She was a lead in Meramec’s award-winning production of “Machinal.” In 2001, the play and was selected to be performed at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, and received an Excellence in Production Award at the renowned festival.

“I met Aimee when I was 14 years old, and we drew and painted together into adulthood. She was a skilled artist, before any formal training, thanks to her dad, William Soete,” said Amy Reidel, assistant professor in the arts and communication, design, visual and performing arts program at Meramec. 

Reidel noted that Soete inherited her father’s paint after he passed away and used it for years to create many paintings, including portraits of herself, her friends and family. 

“We have all cherished them, and especially more so, now," Reidel said. “Aimee was one of the most important people in my life, as she was in many peoples’ lives. We know that she would be so thrilled to have her memory live on through this scholarship which benefits visual and performing arts students in need, at her alma mater of Meramec in her hometown of Kirkwood.”

Soete is survived by her wife, Rhiannan Price, her daughter, Samira Ruth Price-Soete, and a broad network of siblings, relatives and friends.

In Soete’s obituary, Price noted: “To have known Aimee is to know what it feels like to be seen and to feel the embodiment of unadulterated, radiating love. Aimee lived life to the fullest – as an artist, musician, actress, server, florist, farmer, park ranger, and most recently, world-award winning brewer. She loved to learn and was awe-inspiringly talented. With her old-soul wisdom, quick sense of humor, warmth, and brilliance, she inspired everyone she met. Aimee's smile lit up a room. She radiated both warmth and strength until the very end.”