Washington, DC, November 6, 2013– The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the nation’s largest disability rights organization, is proud to announce the winners of the NBCUniversal Tony Coelho Media Scholarship.
The NBCUniversal Tony Coelho Media Scholarship offers four scholarships for the fall of 2013 to 2nd year associate students; undergraduate sophomores, juniors, and seniors; and graduate students with disabilities pursuing communication or media-related degrees. AAPD launched the NBCUniversal Tony Coelho Media Scholarship Fund to encourage more people with disabilities to pursue media-related degrees and careers.
“Each winner of the NBCUniversal Tony Coelho Media Scholarship embodies the true spirit and legacy of Tony Coelho,” said TaKeisha Walker, AAPD Director of Workplace and Leadership Initiatives. Congressman Coelho is a role model for these emerging leaders with disabilities and AAPD is proud to reinforce our commitment to students with disabilities in his honor.”
The four recipients of the 2013 NBCUniversal Tony Coelho Media Scholarship are Caitlin Bailey of Montana State University- Bozeman, Shelby Hintze of Brigham Young University, Mary Karin Hitselberger of University of Miami, and Myles Williams of Chapman University. Each recipient will receive $5,625 for the tuition and fees at their college or university, thanks to a generous contribution from NBCUniversal.
This scholarship is named in honor of Tony Coelho, a former United States Representative from California and the primary author and sponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
In addition to Tony Coelho, the Scholarship Committee members included Cathy Smith of Wal-Mart, Jeff Kramer of Verizon, Ethan Loney of NBCUniversal, and Mary Davis of CSC.
* * *
The American Association of People with Disabilities is a convener, connector, and catalyst for change, increasing the political and economic power of people with disabilities.