FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Most Promising Multicultural Students Class Announced for 2021

One of the industry’s premier DE&I programs accepts 50 of the nation’s highest achieving multicultural seniors to participate in the first fully virtual experience since the program’s inception. 


WASHINGTON, DC, DECEMBER 11, 2020—The American Advertising Federation (AAF) hosted leading industry professionals to select the 2021 class of  Most Promising Multicultural Students. This year’s judging panel included representatives from Apple, FCB, Google, GSD&M, L’Oreal, Marriott, The Integer Group, The Trade Desk, Tinder, Twitter, and UM Worldwide, three of whom are Most Promising alumni.

Approaching its 25th year, the Most Promising Multicultural Student program is part of the AAF Mosaic Center’s initiative to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion within the industry. Students participate in a four-day industry immersion program that includes professional development and personal branding workshops, the Building Bridges for Our Future awards ceremony and Recruiter’s Expo. Most Promising gives advertising, media, communications, and technology companies the opportunity to tap into the high-achieving talent of 50 college students from across the country.

“We’re extremely proud of the 2021 Most Promising inductees as they continued to forge ahead to excellence in a year that held so much uncertainty, especially for college students,” said Ayanna Jackson, VP of the AAF’s Mosaic Center and Education Services.  “And none of this would be possible without the support of long-standing sponsors, as well as new supporters who realize that now, more than ever, it’s imperative to provide opportunities to our diverse talent.” 

Leading agencies and companies, including 72andSunny, Apple, FCB, Google, IPG, McCann, Omnicom Group, Publicis Groupe, The Trade Group, Wieden+Kennedy and more consider Most Promising to be an incredibly valuable resource in recruiting entry-level talent.

"The stories and resilience of these students are truly remarkable.” said Google Multicultural Brand Lead, Paula Castro.

Each year, multicultural students from the AAF’s 160+ college chapters apply to the program. This year’s applicant pool exceeded the number of submissions over the previous years and included students from the AAF’s newly established college chapter initiative—HBCUs for Advertising.

Students are then vetted and selected using a rigorous application process that includes essays questions, letters of recommendation, résumé/portfolio reviews and academic requirements.

This year’s incredible class has an average GPA of 3.7 and represents 25 schools and 19 states across the country, including California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, New York, and Texas.

For more information about the AAF’s diversity programs, please visit the Mosaic Center or contact Melony Hughes at [email protected]. 


2021 Most Promising Multicultural Students Class 

Ashley-Nicole Agatep
The University of Texas at Austin

Kofi Aidoo
Brigham Young University

Ana Maria Alaniz Mendoza
Washington State University

Jazz Alcanices
University of San Francisco

Rameen Ali
University of Oregon

Payton Aparicio
Washington State University

Mikaela Ashley
University of Missouri

Rebekah Baker
Brigham Young University

Carmel Elyssia Bumaa
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Mariel Calara
The University of Texas at Austin

Chase Campbell
Rowan University

Bryce Chan
University of Florida

Deedy Chang
University of Michigan

Fatema Dawoodbhoy
The University of Texas at Austin

Sheyenne Denton
University of Kansas

Summer Epps
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Arianna Ferniza
DePaul University

Hanna Fridriksson
University of Alabama

Johnathon Fuerte
The University of South Carolina at Columbia

Haneen Haque
The University of Texas at Austin

Evelyn Harper
Brigham Young University

Ezekiel Harris
Morehouse College

Nafisa Hassan
The University of Texas at Austin

Erika Hernandez
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Christina Hill
Texas State University

Kyla Jackson
University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Haliamai Kealoha
Brigham Young University

Maddy Kinsella
University of Oregon

Alisha Kumar
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Ni’A Landon
Florida State University

Nia Larry
Howard University

Paula Leon
University of South Florida

Hanlan (Hannah) Li
University of Oregon

Nicole Lopez
University of Florida

Lillian Maero
Brigham Young University

Isabella Matarrita
Florida State University

Ann Milroy
University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Joseph Nugent
Brigham Young University

Olamide Ogunjobi
University of Georgia

Jiaman Peng
Syracuse University

Gustavo Junior Ramirez
University of Oregon

Jamie Reyes
Texas State University

Alexa Schummer
University of Florida

Ashley Stluka
The University of Texas at Austin

Bianca Summerville
Ithaca College

Andres Villa
The University of Texas at Austin

Amanda Willingham
Elon University

Donna Wilson
Brigham Young University

Andrea Wood
University of Florida

Jessica Yoon
University of Oregon
 

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