The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) and the Multicultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance (MFHA) awarded six undergraduate students with $2,000 scholarships to further their education in the industry and support restaurant and foodservice industry diversity efforts. P>The scholarship recipients were recognized and presented with their scholarships at the Tenth Anniversary Gala Dinner & Awards Ceremony at the MFHA Annual Conference in Boston, Mass. on August 8, 2006. (To view a photograph from the event visit http://www.nraef.org/headline/headline_334.asp)
“To realize the benefits of diversity in the restaurant and foodservice industry and meet the industry’s future labor demands, it is critical that the NRAEF help recruit students of diverse backgrounds into the industry through programs such as our Scholarships and Mentoring Program,” said Mary M. Adolf, president and chief operating officer of the NRAEF. “These six outstanding students not only embody diversity, but understand the importance of it in the workplace, and are committed to promoting diversity at all levels as they continue their education and careers.”
“As we celebrate a Decade of Diversity in conjunction with MFHA’s 10th anniversary, these students are a measure of our success in increasing the pool of diverse, talented individuals entering the foodservice and hospitality industry,” said Gerald A. Fernandez, president and founder of the MFHA.
The following students were awarded $2,000 NRAEF/MFHA diversity scholarships: William Flores, Culinary Institute of America, N.Y., recipient of a scholarship in the name of Wallace & Joni Doolin; Lawrence Lau – Culinary Institute of America, N.Y., recipient of a scholarship in the name of Wallace & Joni Doolin; Vijay Mohanani – Johnson & Wales University, R.I.; Anton Simpson – Monroe College, N.Y., recipient of a scholarship in the name of the Curtis S. Carlson Family Foundation; Gabrielle Tinsley – Virginia State University, Va.; and Lai Kwan Wong – Culinary Institute of America, N.Y.
Since 2004, the NRAEF and MFHA have partnered to offer scholarships to talented high school and undergraduate students of diverse backgrounds. Students who earn this prestigious award must excel academically in a restaurant or foodservice management program and gain industry work experience to support their academic goals. As part of the award, the scholarship recipients attended MFHA’s Annual Conference in Boston from August 6-8, 2006.
