2016 Scholarship Recipients

Nermina Aly is an undergraduate junior majoring in communication studies at DePaul University in Chicago. She is passionate about being able to take her knowledge of communication tactics and amplifying it towards causes that she believes must be given a voice. Nermina is a Deans Scholar who has been on the Deans list every quarter.

Ahilan Amirthanayagam is a student at the George Washington University majoring in Communication with a minor in Psychology. He was born in New York City but has spent most of his life abroad. Having lived in seven different countries (India, Ethiopia, US, Kenya, Singapore, Bolivia, and Barbados) and having had the opportunity to visit over 60, he is fascinated by different cultural groups and their interactions.

Kendra Cui is a junior at Wellesley College pursuing a double degree in theatre studies and economics. She aspires to use her interdisciplinary education to establish a career as a producer and artistic director at a major New York City theatre. In doing so, she hopes to create a platform where disabled and underrepresented theatre makers are given opportunities both off and onstage to show their works to a national and international audience.

John Daniel Depa is from Chicago, IL and is entering his final year at Emerson College in Boston, MA. He studies Producing for Visual & Media Arts with a minor in Hearing & Deafness, and is a member of the college’s Honors Program, writing his first of two theses on the hidden impacts school choice programs have on youth with cognitive disabilities. At Emerson, Depa works as an Executive Producer for The Emerson Channel, worked as a Gala Co-Executive Producer on The EVVY Awards, and worked in partnership with WGBH Boston. He hopes to pursue a career in studio broadcast for television and web.

James Blair Kennedy III (Jimmy) is a communications student enrolled at the University of Indianapolis (UIndy) from Indianapolis, Indiana. During his time at UIndy, Jimmy has been a staff member for both 88.7 WICR-FM HD1/HD2/HD3 Radio and UIndy TV5 on-campus. As part of WICR’s staff, he contributes to the sports department as a play-by-play commentator, color analyst, sideline reporter, and studio reporter for remote broadcasts. He has also been a television, radio, and public relations contributor for the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts since 2009. Jimmy, who has Cerebral Palsy, has also been a public speaker for the non-profit organization Timmy Global Health since the age of five. Through his presentations to schools, businesses, and organizations, he attempts to promote an initiative of ability rather than disability. Following his anticipated graduation in May of 2017, Jimmy has ambitions of working in the communication field for a professional sports organization. For more information visit www.jimmykennedybroadcasting.com.

Evan Mercer, a junior at Vanderbilt University, is a Cornelius Vanderbilt Scholar double majoring in communications and neuroscience. Deaf since birth, Evan hopes to build upon his own experiences with having TV and radio shows at Vanderbilt to someday produce a TV show aimed at encouraging other deaf and hard of hearing students to pursue the sciences.

Nicole Tay is a graduate of Wellesley College and is currently pursuing her MPH in social epidemiology at Columbia University. She is starting HealthFX, a comedic web-series about public health in hopes that her show will help promote social justice and health in the mainstream.

Erin is a senior at Muhlenberg College, double majoring in Theatre and Media Communications. On campus, she is the Show Choir’s Music Director and Vice President, the Office of Information Technology’s Resident Technician, Catholic Campus Ministry’s Public Relations Officer, and works as the Theatre Department’s Student Master Carpenter. In addition, she mentors her high school’s FIRST Robotics Team. Erin grew up in Blue Bell, PA, and is a proud member of the Philadelphia/Delaware Valley Chapter of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA).