New York City (May 22, 2008)  — Twenty-five students from the metropolitan region will be granted scholarships to help finance their graphic arts educations at a special awards ceremony to be held at the new Hearst Tower on the evening of June 24th.
 
The scholarship program is conducted by the Graphic Communications Scholarship Award and Career Advancement Foundation, a non-profit that encourages leading corporations in the graphic arts to develop career and educational opportunities for graphic arts students.  Also participating are P3 (Partnership in Print Production) and PIA (Printing Industries Alliance).
 
Ranging in size from $1,000 and $5,000, each scholarship is sponsored by a different company within the graphic arts community.  The Hearst Corporation is providing the venue for the event. And Tom Saggiomo, the president of Agfa, will deliver the keynote speech to an audience that is expected to top 135 invited participants. Saggiomo also will receive GCSACAF’s “Champion of Education” award for all his efforts on behalf of print.
 
Other corporate sponsors include Quark, which is supplying each scholarship winner with a full version of QuarkXpress, and Pantone, which is providing copies of its benchmark color guides to the scholarship recipients.
 
This year’s 25 scholarships is the highest number of grants since the competition began six years ago. The winners were selected by a panel of industry leaders, who reviewed the students’ SAT scores, samples of their work, and essays that reinforced their commitment to graphic arts careers.
 
“Print will continue to be a viable medium only if we continue expanding the technology that makes it compelling and cost-effective,” says Mark Darlow, president of the foundation. “That requires a highly educated workforce.  And that’s why the graphic arts industry needs to attract the best and the brightest with scholarship programs like this one.
 
“Companies that support the GCSACAF by funding these scholarships and supporting our events are truly investing in the future of our industry. They should be commended by everyone in the graphic arts.”
 
Applications are available at www.gcscholarships.org for the 2009 edition of the Graphic Communications Scholarships starting next year.  The competition is open to any graduating high school student who has:
    •    taken Graphic Communications courses,
    •    has been accepted into a college anywhere in the country, and
    •    is pursuing an education in Graphic Communications from:
    ?    the five boroughs of New York City, or
    ?    the New York State counties of Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester and Rockland, or
    ?    the New Jersey counties of Bergen, Essex and Union.