267 HOSPITALITY STUDENTS RECEIVE SCHOLARSHIPS

Washington, 2012-09-05 — /travelprnews.com/ — The American Hotel & Lodging Educational Foundation (AH&LEF), the not-for-profit affiliate of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA), awarded 267 scholarships, totaling $386,500, through three of its core programs – the Annual Scholarship Grant, Incoming Freshman Scholarship, and Graduate Scholarship programs.

The Annual Scholarship Grant Program, the Foundation’s biggest program, is co-administered with 85 universities and colleges.  In 2012, 247 students, nominated by AH&LEF-affiliated schools, received $317,500 in funds.  The program is funded from proceeds of the Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS), the Foundation’s Annual Giving Campaign, previous AH&LEF capital campaigns, annual special events, as well as the following scholarship funds:

• AH&LA Allied Members
• Steve Belmonte
• Melinda Bush
• Carlson Family Foundation
• John Clifford Memorial
• Cecil B. Day Memorial
• Handlery Foundation
• Conrad N. Hilton Memorial
• Hilton Worldwide Scholarship
• Creighton Holden Memorial
• Steve Hymans Memorial
• Richard Kelley
• Richard Kessler
• J. Willard Marriott Memorial
• Curtis C. Nelson

This is the fifth year for two new AH&LEF scholarships – incoming hospitality management freshmen and graduate students.  Ten incoming freshmen received scholarships totaling $19,000, and 10 graduate students received $5,000 scholarships.  This year the top-ranked graduate scholar, Suzanne Markham, was named in honor of AH&LA Chair Nancy Johnson, executive vice president, development, Americas, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group. Markham is currently working on her doctorate in hospitality management at Iowa State University. She worked in lodging operations management for 10 years before leaving to teach hospitality management. For the past five years she has been the hospitality program director at Mount Ida College in Newton, Massachusetts.
In total, AH&LEF awarded $514,500 to 343 hospitality management students through its 10 academic scholarship programs this year.

For more information about AH&LEF scholarships and other programs, contact Michelle Poinelli, senior vice president of foundation programs, at (202) 289-3181 or mpoinelli@ahlef.org or visit www.ahlef.org.

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