The 2019 Scholarship reception, hosted by SC&I on Oct. 3 at the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University, enabled scholarship recipients to meet their donors and express their gratitude for the support the donors give them and SC&I.

Scholarship award winners included undergraduate students in SC&I’s Journalism and Media Studies, Communication, and ITI programs as well as graduate students in the Master of Information (MI), Master of Communication and Media (MCM), and Ph.D. programs.

Rob Eccles, Assistant Dean for Development at SC&I, said the scholarship event is something SC&I looks forward to every year. “It’s an opportunity to honor our scholarship recipients and thank our generous donors for their support – which is vital to our success. It was a great turnout, and a beautiful venue. We were very happy to see many of our longtime supporters, as well as several SC&I alumni who recently created scholarship funds,” said Eccles.

“One of the best parts of my job is to work with donors to create opportunities for students to ease the financial burden of a world-class Rutgers education. The only thing better than helping a donor create a scholarship fund is the opportunity to introduce the donor to the students benefiting from their generosity. It is a true pleasure,” Eccles said.

SC&I’s Dean Jonathan Potter opened the event by welcoming all those in attendance and reflecting on his time as a dean at SC&I. He also mentioned the successes of the Gloria Steinem Chair in Media, Culture and Feminist Studies Naomi Klein and recognized recent alumni creators of scholarship funds, including Ina Brown Woodson (Douglas N. Woodson, Sr. Endowed Fellowship), Rosie Kasica (Manuel Pinho and Mario Teques Endowed Scholarship), and Distinguished Professor Emerita Carol Kuhlthau (Collier-Kuhlthau Endowed Fellowship). Dean Potter then introduced alumnus, longtime donor, and keynote speaker Shaun Mickus’ 91.

Mickus, who received his Bachelor’s degree in English and communication from Rutgers, told the audience about his time at the university. He spoke about SC&I Professor Emeritus of Communication Todd Hunt, who taught and inspired him, and even helped him obtain his current position at Johnson & Johnson. Mickus said in order to “pay it forward,” he and his wife Patricia decided to create the Shaun and Patricia Mickus Endowed Scholarship in honor of Hunt. Mickus thanked other donors for their generous donations, faculty for their efforts and said to students, “You chose Rutgers and Rutgers chose you for a reason, so do everything you can to make a difference for yourself and this world because you are the future.”

SC&I senior and John H. Cook Scholarship recipient Tinah Ogalo spoke about her experience at Rutgers and being a student at SC&I, what the scholarship means to her, and what it will help her to accomplish in the future. She ended by thanking faculty for their work and donors for their donations, and included a quote from Steve Jobs: “Your time is limited so don’t spend it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma. Don’t let the opinions of others drown out your own inner voice. Most importantly have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”

To learn more about opportunities to support our students, please  visit https://comminfo.rutgers.edu/giving.

Photo: Courtesy of Rob Eccles