The Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association Educational Foundation (IHLAEF), the non-for-profit educational arm of the Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association (IHLA), has awarded 23 college students a total of $56,000 in scholarship funding for the 2019-2020 academic year. The IHLAEF awards annual academic scholarships to deserving Illinois college students pursuing hospitality management degrees throughout the country and has been a primary source of scholarship assistance awarding more than $550,000 to Illinois students across colleges and universities.
The 2019 winners are as follows:
Shalinee Abraham, DePaul University (Bolingbrook, IL); Tamika Bobo, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Homewood, IL); Keegan Davis, University of Nevada - Las Vegas (Galesburg, IL); Jasmine Dinkins, Johnson and Wales University (Hanover Park, IL); Rebecca Doman, University of Central Florida (Northbrook, IL); Kristin Dula, The French Pastry School (Saint Charles, IL); Bridget Ferguson, DePaul University (Argenta, IL); Brady Furleigh, DePaul University (Chicago, IL); Martha Gomez, DePaul University (McHenry, IL); Brendan Kempff, Cornell University (Campton Hills, IL);Trinity Kim, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Chicao, IL); Mia Lanzillotti, Florida Gulf Coast University (Gumee, IL); Malikha Long, Kendall College at National Louis University (Evergreen Park, IL); Grace Murphy, Purdue University (Palatine, IL); Veronica Nunez, Roosevelt University (Elgin, IL); Tess O’Callaghan, Pennsylvania State University (Naperville, IL); Clara Pauker, Purdue University (Glenview, IL); Todd Pinta, DePaul University (New Lenox, IL); Elizabeth Redhead, DePaul University (Morton, IL); Jennifer Romanchek, Purdue University (Lake Forest, IL); Elena Sanchez, University of Nevada – Las Vegas (Belvidere, IL); Sam Tucker, Cornell University (Champaign, IL);Courtney Zajac, Northern Illinois University (Herscher, IL).
The Educational Foundation Scholarship Committee reviews all applicants and determines the amount of scholarships to be awarded. Funds are raised through corporate and individual contributions and annual fundraising efforts, and scholarships are available in amounts ranging from $2,000 up to $5,000 per academic year.
IHLAEF’s signature fundraising event, Pony Up for the Kids, took place July 11, 2019 at Arlington Park Racecourse. Guests were invited to partake in a fun-filled day of mingling, eating, drinking and betting all while raising funds for the IHLAEF Scholarship Program. This year, a total of $18,000 was raised to put towards scholarships for next year's recipients.
To learn more about programming and scholarship efforts, please visit illinoishotels.org/Scholarships