CAST Scholarship Program

CAST created its scholarship program to encourage students to consider the communications field as a career. The CAST Scholarship Committee makes a first-place award of $300 and a second-place award of $200 to selected high school students who plan to pursue careers in communications. We also award a $500 scholarship to a student at Broome Community College, chosen by the BCC Foundation.

Eligibility

To apply for the two scholarships available to high school students, you must:

Be a senior in high school.
Attend high school in a school district where the home or business of an active CAST member is located.
Be entering a two-year or four-year college with plans to major in a communications-related field. Eligible fields include, but are not limited to: advertising, communications studies, radio or television production, graphic design, print, photography and public relations. (The CAST Scholarship Committee will make the final decision on whether the field of study that a student indicates qualifies him or her for the competition.)

Procedure for Applying

You must provide the following items to your counselor in March of your senior year, along with a copy of the application:

The complete student portion of the application form.
An essay, not to exceed one typed page, describing your plans for communications as a career and why you selected this vocation.
Two reference letters, one from a teacher and one from someone outside the school.

For more information contact:

Email: scholarships@castmembers.org

Selection of Scholarship Winners

The CAST Scholarship Committee will rate entries on the following criteria, with equal weight given to each:

Academic potential — based on transcript, SAT scores, and reference letters
Leadership and service in the school/community — based on reference letters, counselor recommendation, and school and community activities and awards
Commitment to the communications field — based on essay on vocational plans, reference letters, and activities

Award of Scholarships

Scholarship winners and their counselors will be notified in May that they have been selected. Scholarship checks will be distributed to school counselors for presentation to the winning students.

2008 Scholarship Winners

First Place: Ryan Shivy, Maine Endwell High School, plans to study communications/journalism at Penn State University.
Ryan ranked second is his class of 185 students with a weighted GPA of 99.8738.

Second Place: Danielle Brenon, Maine Endwell High School, plans to study communications and political science at either Gordon College or Houghton College.
Danielle ranked fifth in her class with a weighted GPA of 97.6719.

BCC Foundation Scholarship: Jenna Winslow.

2007 Scholarship Winners

First Place: Melinda Zosh, Montrose Area High School, plans to attend Liberty University to major in Broadcast Journalism.

Second Place: Robert Lippolis, Windsor High School, plans to attent BCC to major in Communication and Media Arts.

BCC Foundation Scholarship: Matthew Pisani of Endicott.

If you would like to be a part of the Scholarship Committee, please email scholarships@castmembers.org. The committee is formed in early April and usually requires no meetings and a minimal amount of time spent reviewing applications.