May 5, 2021
Alumni donors rise to meet needs of journalism and mass communications students with unique approach
Because of unprecedented alumni support in a pandemic economy, on April 30, Kansas State University's A.Q. Miller School of Journalism and Mass Communications distributed more than $200,000 to meet the financial needs of its returning students.
In 2021, 71 K-State JMC students received scholarships ranging from $2,000 to $9,000 from the school, compared to last year when 62 future media professionals were awarded $170,600. This 18% increase in alumni donor support for financially stressed Wildcats means that almost 1in 4 A.Q. Miller students, or 23.1%, received at least one scholarship to help them return to the Manhattan campus this fall.
Unfortunately, because of COVID-19 protocols and budget cutbacks, the annual JMC scholarship banquet that celebrated the 2020 recipients was canceled last spring. To recognize this year's winners, however, the A.Q. Miller School innovated a digital acceptance speech system hosted by faculty members Andrew Smith and Huyen Nguyen — pronounced: Hew-win N-win — which was sent out across social media by K-State.
In addition to the annual JMC Scholarship Committee awards, the A.Q. Miller School maintains a separate JMCares Emergency Fund that is designed to close the gap for JMC students with unexpected expenses.
For more information, please contact the JMC Scholarship Committee co-chair Ian Punnett, the faculty advisor/chief operator of Wildcat 91.9, KSDB-FM, at ipunnett@k-state.edu.