AAF's Most Promising Multicultural Students Named for 2023
Advertising leaders select 50 of the nation's highest achieving diverse seniors to participate in one of the industry's premier DE&I programs
WASHINGTON, Jan. 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Advertising Federation (AAF) hosted leading industry professionals to select the 2023 class of Most Promising Multicultural Students. Approaching its 26th year, the Most Promising program is one of the organization's premier initiatives promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion within the advertising industry.
Students will participate in a four-day industry immersion program in New York that will include professional development and personal branding workshops, the Building Bridges for Our Future Awards Ceremony and Luncheon, and Recruiter's Expo. The Most Promising program gives advertising, media, communications, and tech companies the opportunity to tap into high-achieving talent of 50 diverse college students from across the country.
"The 2023 Most Promising inductees continue to raise the bar," said Ayanna Jackson, the AAF's EVP, Mosaic Center. "They are eager to enter our industry with a boldness and eagerness to affect change. We must develop spaces and opportunities that will allow them to create an industry that's never been."
Each year, students of racial or ethnic diversity from the AAF's 140+ college chapters apply to the program. This year's judging panel included representatives from Ally Financial, Nissan Motor Corporation, Captura Group, Cummings Creative Group, Hearts & Science, Lake-Sumter State College, Promedica, Publicis Health, RPA, and The Trade Desk.
Leading agencies and companies, including 72andSunny, BBDO, Dentsu, Meta, FCB, IPG, McCann, Omnicom Group, UM Worldwide, The Trade Desk, Wieden+Kennedy and others, have been long-standing Most Promising supporters and consider the program a valuable resource in recruiting diverse, entry-level talent.
"The AAF is very proud to introduce our Most Promising Multicultural Students Class of 2023. This amazing group of students have met all criteria and vetting processes by an outstanding experienced and respected Council of Judges," said Steve Pacheco, CEO of the AAF. "Now, more than ever, the need to connect young talent to the advertising industry is a top priority for everyone. The fact that the AAF can develop such a diverse group representing the best from across North America is consistent with our mission to develop the Next Generation of Advertising leaders."
This year's incredible class has an average GPA of 3.7 and represents 28 schools and 18 states across the country, including California, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, Oregon, New York and Texas.
2023 Most Promising Multicultural Students Class
Lesly Abarca-Valladares | South Dakota State University | Steven Howard Jr | Ithaca College |
Brianna Aguilar | Brigham Young University | Trinity Hunter | The University of Alabama |
Deandre Allen | St. Bonaventure University | Fatuma Jama | University of Minnesota |
Isaiah Braithwaite | Roger Williams University | Rohini Khamamkar | Arizona State University |
Ariana Britto | University of Florida | Sharanya Kumar | San Jose State University |
Juan Camargo Quintero | University of Illinois | Carmen Larios | University of Illinois |
Pricila Carmona | Olivet Nazarene University | Star Lawson | The Pennsylvania State University |
Destiny Carter-Wleh | University of Minnesota | Linda Le | University of Houston |
Isabella Castro | Lindenwood University | Kassandra Leyva | University of Illinois |
Emma Chan | Pennsylvania State University | Marvin Lim | University of Oregon |
Victoria Chan | Texas A&M University | Bri Lucero | Brigham Young University |
Chenai Christian | The Pennsylvania State University | Beamlak Lulseged | University of Minnesota |
Jacqueline Cimino | University of San Francisco | Carlos Luna | University of Texas Rio Grande Valley |
Li de Jong | Ithaca College | Christopher Mercado | Brigham Young University |
Jessi Delfino | The University of Texas | Sushree Samikhya Mohanty | University of Memphis |
Amari Edwards | University of South Carolina | Evanna Momtaj | University of Missouri |
Megan Fabriquer | University of San Francisco | Blake Morrow | University of Illinois |
Erica Fierro | Texas State University | Hanya Noussier | Florida State University |
Amari Foster | University of Missouri | Sara Omar | University of Minnesota |
Julie Garcia | University of Illinois | Jenna Ramon | Texas State University |
Elizabeth Gordon | University of Minnesota | Brianna Roach | Arizona State University |
Asia Griffin | University of Illinois | Marvin Sosa | University of Illinois |
Rafael Guedes Bonacin | Kent State University | John Starkweather | Brigham Young University |
June Hernandez | The University of Texas | Jyonosuke Tanaka | Newhouse School of Public Communications |
Carmelli Hess | University of Oregon | Luckett Vanguard | University of Minnesota |
Established in 1905, the American Advertising Federation (AAF), acts as the "Unifying Voice for Advertising." Its membership is comprised of more than 50 corporate members made up of the nation's leading advertisers, agencies, and media companies; a national network of 150+ local clubs representing 40,000 advertising professionals; and more than 140 college chapters with 4,000 student members. The AAF operates a host of programs and initiatives, including Advertising Day on the Hill, the Advertising Hall of Fame, the Advertising Hall of Achievement, the American Advertising Awards, the National Student Advertising Competition, the Mosaic Awards, the Most Promising Multicultural Students Program and AdCamp for high school students. Follow us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn (https://aaf.org).
SOURCE American Advertising Federation
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