At the ceremony, industry leaders briefed GCSF student scholarship recipients about the career opportunities that await them in graphic communications. Middle row, from left: Tonya Powers (Canon Solutions America), Francis McMahon (Canon Solutions America), Charlie Whitaker (Taylor Corporation).

Friends of the industry marked an especially successful year of supporting students of graphic communications and organizations that educate people in the field.

The Graphic Communications Scholarship Foundation (GCSF) renewed its commitment to developing the next generation of the industry’s workforce with a ceremony that saluted the achievements of these young strivers and the generosity of the donors who support their education.

In New York City on June 24, GCSF presented scholarship awards to 13 students enrolled in or entering academic degree programs in graphic communications. It also made institutional grants to a local college and to a volunteer organization that trains community members in the craft of printing.

The cash awards came at the height of a year in which GCSF met its goal of raising $100,000 to fund education and professional development for those pursuing careers in graphic communications. The Foundation, a 501(c)( 3) not-for-profit entity, has contributed more than $1.4 million to the cause of education since awarding its first scholarships in 2002.

Stocks and Bonds
John Aaron, President of GCSF, likened the group to a “stockbroker” that delivers the “stocks” the students represent to donors who become “investors” in them with their contributions. Aaron said that because the students are the future capital of the industry, “these ‘stocks’ will always increase in value.” This year, the investment came to $62,000 in grants to the students and the two institutional recipients.

The bounty was made possible by the generosity of a growing list of corporate donors who have responded to GCSF’s fundraising appeal by endowing scholarships in their companies’ names. A last-minute flurry of contributions made during the awards ceremony lifted the Foundation to the $100,000 level it aspired to reach in 2024. (A complete list of sponsors appears at the end of the article.)

A large part of the money was raised with the help of Canon Solutions America, whose Executive Vice President for Production Print Solutions, Francis A. McMahon, became the 2024 recipient of GCSF’s 2024 Champion of Education Award. This honor is reserved for industry figures who have shown exceptional dedication to professional education and career advancement.

Taylor Corp.’s Whitaker Speaks
At a pre-ceremony briefing for the scholarship recipients and other students, McMahon introduced Charlie Whitaker, Chief Executive Officer of Taylor Corporation, as a special guest speaker. A full-service communications solutions provider, Taylor ranks sixth on the 2023 Printing Impressions 300 list of the largest printing companies in the U.S. and Canada. It has annual sales of $2.2 billion and employs 10,000 people.

Whitaker assured the students that with the right mix of skills and motivation, their career prospects in graphic communications can be bright.

“This industry is a new person’s game,” he said. “You absolutely are the future.” Those who know how to engage customers and solve their problems will be in a strong position to negotiate for the kinds of compensation and advancement they desire, Whitaker advised.

At the same time, he counseled patience and a flexible approach to navigating a career. “Don’t rush it,” he said. “Don’t go in with a preplanned agenda. Let the company know that you’re willing to be thrown into any briar patch and work your way out.” Then the opportunities will follow, Whitaker said.

‘Magical’ Path to Success
No one at the ceremony demonstrated the kind of fulfilment potential that Whitaker described more impressively than alumni speaker Natalie Alcide, a Trustee of GCSF and co-chair and organizer of the event. Introducing the awards portion of the program, she said the industry is as “magical” today as it was when she received her first GCSF scholarship award 13 years ago.

Today Alcide is a Senior Art Director for the TBWA\Chiat\Day agency and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in media and communication arts at City College of New York. She attributed some of her progress to the encouragement she has received from members of the industry through her connection to GCSF.

She said the industry’s veterans are willing to do the same for today’s students on the doorsteps of their careers. “Learn all that you can from these wonderful people,” Alcide urged them.

Like their predecessors, the GCSF scholarship recipients of 2024 are students from throughout the New York metropolitan area who are pursuing academic degrees in graphic communications. Recipients can apply for repeat grants as their studies progress. (A list of the 2024 recipients, their awards, and their schools appears at the end of the article.)

Contributing to institutions as well as to individuals expands the ways in which GCSF can assist students and supporters of graphic communications. Accepting a grant for the third time was Women’s Press Collective, a Bronx-based organization that has been teaching people how to write, design, and print in support of grassroots advocacy campaigns in their communities since 1982. Lisa Daniell, operations manager, said that the group has recently trained 30 press operators who are then expected to train others in presswork.

Support for City Tech
GCSF also supports the Department of Communication Design (COMD) at New York City College of Technology, which uses GCSF funding to invest in new equipment and resources for its study programs. These include the only Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in communication design offered by any CUNY school. George Garrastegui, Jr., the department’s incoming chair, accepted the 2024 grant.

GCSF Vice President Diane Romano introduced McMahon, the Champion of Education Award honoree, as “a driving force in this industry” and an innovator who has helped to bring about its digital transformation. She said McMahon’s career “represents everything we want our students to strive to be.”

McMahon recalled that the start of his career was anything but auspicious. He said that despite his best efforts as a young copier salesman in Los Angeles, he closed no orders in his first few months on the job. His sales manager reassured him daily that if he kept at it, he would succeed, and by the ninth month, he did. This would not have happened, McMahon said, without the steadfast support and encouragement he received from his boss.

The takeaway, he continued, is that people make other people’s careers. “Cherish your relationships,” he said. When friends are needed at crucial moments, “they just appear for you.”

‘Dream Superlarge’
McMahon urged the students to become the person for others that his sales manager had been for him. “Dream superlarge,” he told them, but at the same time, “be humble” and respectful of everyone else.

“Just be kind,” McMahon said. “It’s really that simple.”

GCSF saluted another Canon executive, Tonya Powers, Senior Director of Marketing, with a special award for spearheading the Foundation’s 2024 fundraising.

Romano described the Foundation as “the center of a wheel” that unites students, donors, mentors, and employers in the common cause of education. Besides raising money for scholarships, GCSF provides technical training, mentorships, and work/study opportunities for students pursuing careers in the industry. It partners in many of these efforts with the Advertising Club of New York (APC-NYC), which endows the APC Judy Salmon Scholarship Award.

Working as volunteers without professional staff or dedicated office space, the members of GCSF’s Board of Directors channel all of the money they raise to students as scholarships and to qualifying organizations as cash grants. To donate, and for further information, visit https://gcsfny.org/donate/. 

2024 Student Scholarship Awardees

Aiden Joel Hamilton: thINK Scholarship Award

Emerson College Fall 2024

West Orange High School, NJ, Graduate 2024

Adrika Lima Hoque: Simprint Scholarship Award

New York City College of Technology, CUNY

Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in progress, Communication Design Department

Ashthon Duncan: Graphic Communications Scholarship Award

Parsons School of Design, The New School

Master of Science Degree in progress, Strategic Design and Management Program Bachelor of Arts Degree, New York City of Technology, CUNY, Communication Design Department

Caroline Irene Piszczatowski: WhatTheyThink Scholarship Award

Upcoming Freshman, SUNY Old Westbury, Fall 2024

Glen Cove High School, NY, Graduate, 2024

David Garcia, Jr.: Trekk Scholarship Award

Suffolk County Community College

Major in Computer Science/New Media

Esther Jungreis: Canon Solutions America Scholarship Award

Upcoming Freshman, Montclair State University, Fall 2024

Major in Graphic Design and Marketing

West Orange High School, NJ, Graduate, 2024

Harrison Alexander Velentzas: Graphic Communication Scholarship Award

Upcoming Freshman, Leiden University, The Netherlands, Fall 2024

Major in International Studies

Glen Cove High School, NY, Graduate, 2024

Lauren / Lau Ashley Nielsen: APC Judy Salmon Scholarship Award

New York City College of Technology, CUNY

Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in progress, Communication Design Department

Phoebe Pugkhem George: Graphic Communication Scholarship Award

Upcoming Freshman, University of Hartford/Hartford Art School, Fall 2024

Major in Animation & Game Art

Glen Cove High School, NY Graduate 2024

Sable Spellman: Quantum Group Scholarship Award

Upcoming student at The School of Visual Arts, Fall 2024

Kingsborough Community College

Sebastian Chapman: Simprint Scholarship Award

New York City College of Technology, CUNY

Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in progress, Communication Design Department

Sharif Kariem Hill-Dunning: Versa Scholarship Award

Farmingdale State College

Major in Graphic Design/Visual Communications

Wilna Michel: Graphic Communication Scholarship Award

Applied to the Master of Professional Studies, Branding and Integrated Communications (BIC) Program at City College of New York 

New York City College of Technology, CUNY Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree 2024 Communication Design Department

2024 Scholarship Sponsors