LOS ANGELES – The LAGRANT Foundation (TLF) will award $100,000 in scholarships to a total of 15 ethnic minority college students pursuing a degree in advertising, marketing or public relations – seven African Americans, six Hispanics and two Asian/Pacific Islanders.
TLF will be holding the 11th Anniversary Scholarship Recognition Reception and Awards Program on Monday, June 1, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. at New York University’s Kimmel Center. CNN National Correspondent, Jason Carroll, will serve as the Master of Ceremonies for the third year in a row.
“For more than ten years now, the foundation has been committed to fulfilling its mission of funding dreams into reality and furthering the advancement of ethnic minorities within the fields of advertising, marketing and public relations,” said TLF Founder/Chairman, Mr. Kim L. Hunter. “The recipients reflect the future of this industry and will continue to academically excel toward a successful career path.”
Since its inception in 1998, The LAGRANT Foundation has awarded close to $1,000,000 to more than 150 students nationwide. The scholarship recipients will participate in a day-long career development workshop hosted by New York University and have the opportunity to meet with industry professionals. The following are the 2009 TLF Scholarship Recipients:
Undergraduate students – $5,000 Award Recipients
– Steven G. Bram – IMC, San Diego State University
– Debbie A. Ebalobo – Public Relations & New Media, University of Georgia
– Jonathan G. Gipson – Communications, Rutgers University
– Diana F. Jimenez – Advertising, University of Texas at Austin
– Bentley C. Lopez – Business Administration, Marketing, University of Southern California
– Tiia Koppel – Communications, The University of Washington, Seattle
– Karmen K. Ponder-Moore – Public Relations, University of Oklahoma
– Francesca O. Murray – Journalism/Public Relations, California State University, Long Beach
– Phillip Parris – Business/Marketing, Medgar Evers College, CUNY
– Christine E. Nieves Rodriguez – Communications/Consumer Psychology, The University of Pennsylvania
Graduate students – $10,000 Award Recipients
– Danielle M. English – Master of Science in Public Relations, University of Denver
– Kaneisha D. Grayson – MBA & MPA in Marketing & Public Affairs, Harvard Business School
– Erick Laseca – Master of Science in IMC, Northwestern University
– Sara E. Morgan – Master of Arts in IMC, Emerson College
– Sharell S. Weeams – MBA in Marketing, University of Dallas
The LAGRANT Foundation would also like to thank the 2009 Host Committee members for raising in excess of $110,000 and for their investment in furthering the education of ethnic minorities within the fields of advertising, marketing and public relations.
– Michael J. O’Neill, Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs & Communications, American Express – Committee Chair
– Andrew Polansky, President, Global, Weber Shandwick Worldwide – Committee Co-Chair
– Barry H. Caldwell, Senior Vice President, Government Affairs and Corporate Communications, Waste Management, Inc.
– Stephen L. Johnson, Senior Vice President and Director of Public Relations and Government Affairs, Union Bank
– Lisa F. Hyden Carrieri, Managing Director, Corporate Human Resources & Administration, Ogilvy PR Worldwide
– Neil Miller, Global Chief Financial Officer, Draftcb
– Javier Evans, Senior Premier Corporate and Professionals Relationships Manager, HSBC Bank USA
– Charlotte R. Otto, Global External Relations Officer, Procter & Gamble
– Nelson Fernandez, Managing Director – New York Office, Chief Diversity Officer – North America, APCO Worldwide
– Barbara J. Parsky, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications, Edison International
– Andrew Sawyer, Executive Vice President, Alloy
American Airlines provided a roundtrip ticket for all 15 scholarship recipients. Donors who have contributed $5,000 or more in cash or in-kind donations: Alloy, American Express, APCO Worldwide, Castells & Asociados, Council of Public Relations Firms, Draftfcb, Edison International, Fleishman-Hillard, Golin-Harris, Heyman Associates, Hill & Knowlton, HSBC, Johnson & Johnson, Jordan, Ketchum, Macy’s, McCann Worldgroup, Nordstrom, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, Prudential, Union Bank, Verizon, Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, Waste Management, Weber Shandwick Worldwide and American Airlines, the official airline of The LAGRANT Foundation.
In 2008, TLF awarded $250,000 in scholarships to 36 college students in recognition of the 10th Anniversary of the foundation.
To RSVP for this year’s TLF Scholarship Recognition and Awards Program, please contact Programs Manager, Ericka Avila, at erickaavila@lagrant.com or (323) 469-8680, extension 223. There is no cost to attend.