5th BIC Cohort Snags FIVE TLF Scholarships
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| L to R: LaToya Heron, Amera Lulu, Kelvin Morales, Rebecca Rivera, Jen Cuffari |
FIVE BICsters have won prestigious The LAGRANT Foundation (TLF) Scholarships: Jennifer Cuffari, LaToya Heron, Amera Lulu, Kelvin Morales, and Rebecca Rivera. In a powerhouse showing, they are among just 40 graduate students nationwide to receive a TLF scholarship whose winners share the foundation's mission of increasing ethnic diversity in the advertising, marketing and public relations industries.
This is the fifth year in a row -- in BIC's fifth year of existence -- that BIC students have been selected to win a highly selective The LAGRANT Foundation Scholarship. Fred Garcia and Amber Jackson, BIC '15, Donna Dei-Baning, BIC '16, Dalisbeth Galvez, Melissa Julien, Priscilla Parra BIC '17, Charisse Holder, Erica Lopez, and Sean Feol-Baugh, BIC '18 received the $5,000 scholarship in 2014, 2015, 2016 and $3,250 in 2017 (respectively). With 14 recipients in just five years, BIC has now received the most scholarships given to a school/program in the Northeast during The LAGRANT Foundation's 20 year history.
Jen, LaToya, Amera, Kelvin, and Rebecca will each receive $3,250 and join students from such prestigious institutions as Harvard, Duke, Northwestern, University of Pennsylvania, Syracuse, Georgetown and Emory. They will all receive travel and lodging to May events either in San Francisco or New York City. Explaining BIC's strong showing, Kim L. Hunter, Founder and Chairman of TLF, said that "CCNY students are thoughtful, creative, and imaginative."
This year's multi-track selection included two students from the BIC Creative track, two from PR and one from Management. Jennifer Cuffari received a BBA from CUNY's Baruch College and has worked as a Teaching Art Assistant at Doing Art Together. LaToya Heron graduated from the University of Rochester with a BA in African-American Studies. She is currently a Junior Analyst at Omnicom Media Group. Prior to enrolling in BIC, Amera Lulu received a Bachelor's in Communication Design from CUNY City Tech. She has worked for The ONE Club for Creative Excellence, is a MAIP fellow as well as Campus Ambassador, and is currently interning at Ogilvy. Kelvin Morales received his BA in Communication Arts at Florida International University. He's currently the Brand Manager for Ralph Lauren at Macy's. Rebecca Rivera earned her BA in Comparative Literature from Occidental College. She has worked as a copywriter and Creative Director at various heavy-hitting agencies throughout New York City, including DDB, Digitas, TBWA, and Deutsch. Rebecca also helped establish the 3% Conference which champions diversity and inclusion.
The LAGRANT Foundation’s 2018 scholarship recipients will be recognized during the 20th Anniversary Scholarship and Donor Recognition Reception in May at either the New York City or San Francisco location. Scholarship events will kick off with a welcome dinner followed by two days of career development workshops as well as a scholarship & donor recognition reception. During these activities, students will have the opportunity to meet industry professionals, network, and gain exposure to the advertising, marketing, and public relations world.
The event in New York City is sponsored by Omnicom Public Relations Group and Ketchum, with Karen van Bergen, CEO, Omnicom Public Relations Group, serving as the New York City host committee chair and Rob Flaherty, chairman at Ketchum and TLF board member serving as New York City host committee co-chair. Gail Heimann, president of Weber Shandwick will be this year’s keynote speaker.
Since its inception in 1998, The LAGRANT Foundation (TLF) has provided 372 scholarships and $1.98 million to continue its mission to increase the number of ethnic minorities in the fields of advertising, marketing and public relations. With the generous support of its major donors and supporters, TLF provides students with career & professional development workshops, scholarships, internships, entry-level positions and mentors to African American/Black, Alaska Native/Native American, Asian American/Pacific Islander and Hispanic/Latino undergraduate and graduate students.
