Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A., is now accepting applications for its annual scholarship program that provides financial assistance to members of the National Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT). ACT is a national college student association with more than 350 members located on 17 college and university campuses across the country. ACT’s mission of fostering professional development is at the core of the Yamaha-ACT Scholarship Program, now in its third year.
The Yamaha-ACT Scholarship Program is broken out into two individual student scholarships and one chapter scholarship. All three awards are aimed at helping students attend the annual Agricultural Media Summit (AMS), which is the largest gathering of ag media professionals in the country and is the ACT students’ primary career development networking opportunity each year. The conference is hosted by the American Agricultural Editors’ Association (AAEA), the Livestock Publications Council (LPC) and the American Business Media Agri-Council – potential future employers and colleagues of the students.
“This Yamaha scholarship program supports the professional development of ACT students while encouraging these future professional communicators to carry messages of safe, responsible ATV and Side-by-Side vehicle use into their future careers,” said Steve Nessl, Yamaha’s ATV/SxS marketing manager. “We encourage all ACT members to get involved and submit individual and chapter applications for the 2011 program.”
For the 2009-10 program, the University of Florida received Yamaha’s chapter award for the second year in a row, while Kelsey Fletcher of Texas Tech University and Hailey Harroun of Oklahoma State University earned the individual scholarships. The University of Florida’s award helped cover costs in bringing six students to the 2010 AMS in Minnesota this year, while the individual scholarships covered all travel and accommodations costs, plus more, for both Fletcher and Harroun. The 2011 AMS will be in New Orleans – a city sure to attract students from around the country next summer.
“This scholarship program is continuing to gain steam nationwide especially as more students see how some of the past winners have benefited from it,” said Dr. Jefferson D. Miller, ACT faculty advisor and associate professor of agricultural communications at the University of Arkansas. “The scholarship money is really helpful, but the program also creates great networking and professional development opportunities for the students who intern at Yamaha’s Info Expo booth at AMS.”
Applicants are judged based on merit, need and quality of submission materials by a review committee consisting of Yamaha representatives and members of the AAEA and the LPC. The 2010-2011 application process will run through the end of February and winners will be announced in early May 2011. More information and guidelines, along with the application form, can be found online at www.nactnow.org.
For more information on Yamaha, visit www.yamaha-motor.com.
