Interpublic Mentoring Scholarship Recipients 2020
Congratulations to the 2020 IPG Mentoring Scholarship recipients
The 2020 IPG Mentoring Scholarship recipients (left to right): Sabiha, Muhamed, Maria, and Niakale wearing their college sweatshirts. The recipients were celebrated virtually and gifted with their sweatshirts by IPG.
Sabiha’s personal statement:
No matter if classes are held in person or virtual in the fall, I am very excited to meet my class of 2024 and learn about their academic interests and passions. I am excited to meet Hunter’s diverse body of professors and explore the campus and see what it has in store for me and my peers.
As an outgoing student, I hope to continue to use my time-management skills to seek a balance between extracurricular activities and academic demand. I am very excited to be part of Project Sunshine, a volunteer-based non-profit organization at Hunter College. As an in-patient rounding volunteer at Mount Sinai West hospital, I have witnessed the significance of volunteering and the power it has in transforming the community into a better place.
“My participation in the New York City Mentoring Program made me more aware of the great opportunities that my community has to offer… I am truly grateful to be part of such an amazing program that empowers youth.”
Muhamed’s personal statement:
I originally grew up in The Gambia but moved to the states when I was twelve years old. I am a 2020 graduate from Careers In Sports High School and will be a freshman at Boston College this fall. I am ecstatic for the beginning of this new chapter for several reasons.
Being a first-gen student, college is a very unfamiliar territory for me and my family. I have not had the opportunity to be bombarded with information, which serves my adventurous nature; the need to explore and experience my own journey. I’ve also never been away for a prolonged period of time, just the notion of independence that comes with this next step fills me with enough adrenaline to complete a day’s task. I look forward to learning about my future friends and networks: their cultures and what drives their worldview. I hope to reciprocate by actively sharing my own experiences and overall adding to that positive cycle of learning outside the classroom.
As for academics, I intend to start off right. This would mean having to learn new study habits, better time management, and simply consciously reminding myself of the foremost reason why I am in an educational environment -- education. I am eager to do these things because I am aware of the investment I and the people in my life, including IPG, are making to enable me to start making my dreams a reality.
Maria’s personal statement:
While I knew college would be a new environment, and the first semester at Stony Brook would be a stark difference to growing up in the city, I wouldn’t have expected it to be anything like this. And by that, I mean the semester held nearly entirely online in the middle of a global pandemic. But as with many things in life, you make the best of the current situation.
Some things I am most excited for during my first semester of college are meeting new people, exploring an unfamiliar environment, and taking advantage of new opportunities. I plan to pursue astronomy and computer science, which is very different from my high school studies, though I will continue my musical interests. I look forward to engaging in research at the university, as well as working with the community through clubs and events.
While I may not necessarily get the true on-campus experience this first semester, an unexpected benefit may be that I can first adjust academically, and then work on adjusting socially once we reach the “new normal.” Regardless, I am excited to start this chapter of my life!
Niakale’s personal statement:
I will be attending Quinnipiac University this fall in Hamden, Connecticut. I will be majoring in communications with a minor in political science. Although the class of 2020 has been significantly impacted by Covid-19, I still have hope for the remainder of the year. I am most excited about immersing myself with a new group of people whether this means in-person or virtually. I love to network and try new things because these are the things that help me grow outside of my comfort zone.
Besides being excited, I expect to see heavy safety precautions due to the deadly pandemic that we are experiencing. I expect class sizes to be much smaller and some classes to be done online when it is not necessary to meet. I know that Connecticut is a great state with great people and I truly hope I can make the best out of my next 4 years there!
Since 1993, past IPG scholarship winners have attended Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Harvard University, New York University, University of Oxford, Pennsylvania State University, Princeton University, Rhode Island School of Design, and the School of Visual Arts, among other prestigious institutions in New York and beyond.