STAMFORD, Ct. – October 12, 2020 – Charter Communications, Inc. today announced the 20 college juniors who will make up its inaugural class of Spectrum Scholars, the company’s new, two-year educational and mentorship initiative for underrepresented students with financial need. Each student will receive a $20,000 scholarship, a Charter professional mentor, and the opportunity to explore an internship with the company.
“We would like to congratulate our first-ever class of Spectrum Scholars,” said Rhonda Crichlow, Senior Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer for Charter. “This program is a wonderful investment in the development of our future workforce and furthers our commitment to investing back into the diverse communities we serve. We look forward to engaging with these college students this fall and introducing them to the many different career opportunities within our company.”
Spectrum Scholars were selected by Charter and its national nonprofit partners, The American Indian College Fund, OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates, UNCF (United Negro College Fund), and SHPE (Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers), with some recipients affiliated with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and Tribal Colleges (TCUs). Recipients chosen have a variety of majors including business, finance, engineering, and communications, and were required to maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher in order to be eligible to apply for a scholarship. The scholarship recipients will be introduced to the program via a virtual professional development series beginning on October 1. This year’s Spectrum Scholars are:
- Shaun Anderson, of Lexington, KY; Tennessee State University-Nashville, Marketing
- Kristalyn Billips, of Jamaica, NY; Howard University, Marketing
- Christa Cooper, of Ronan, MT; Salish Kootenai College, Business Administration
- Kennedy Cotton, of Princeton, TX; University of North Texas, Business
- Joshua Duarte, of Waxahachie, TX; Texas A&M University, College Station, Mechanical Engineering
- Richard Giang, of Liberty Township, OH; The Ohio State University, New Media & Communication Technology
- Andrew Hernandez, of Los Angeles, CA; California State University, Long Beach, Mechanical Engineering
- Jaydin Howe, of Wapato, WA; Haskell Indian Nations University, Business Management
- Joan Lee, of Los Alamitos, CA; University of Southern California, Urban Studies and Planning
- Danielle Magyar, of Killeen, TX; Ilisagvik College, Business
- Megan Nguyen, of Revere, MA; Georgetown University, Science, Technology, and Int’l Affairs
- Ijeoma Nwankwo, of Pearland, TX; Howard University, Accounting
- Catherine Oriel, of Glendale, CA; The George Washington University, Journalism & Mass Communication
- Cynthia Rios, of Garner, NC; North Carolina State University, Electrical Engineering
- Mariel Segovia, of Corona, CA; University of New Haven, Computer Science
- Valentina Solci, of Miami, FL; The New School, Economics
- Brie Turner, of Lithonia, GA; Howard University, Communications
- Nicholas Valdes, of Keller, TX; Texas Tech University, Computer Engineering
- Lana Wagner, of Browning, MT; Montana State University-Northern, Business Administration
- Jia Min (Kelly) Zheng, of Harrison, NJ; Brandeis University, Business, and Computer Science
Spectrum Scholars is one of several philanthropic programs developed by Charter to support communities throughout its 41-state service area. Other programs include Spectrum Housing Assist, which is on track to meet its goal of making 50,000 homes safer and healthier by the end of 2020, has improved more than 44,000 homes to date; Spectrum Digital Education, through which Charter has awarded $6 million in cash grants and in-kind commitments to support broadband education, training and technology; and Spectrum Employee Community Grants, which supports Charter employees’ volunteer activities and so far has impacted more than 160 social and human services organizations in 25 states. Through the Spectrum Community Investment Loan Fund, Charter has committed to investing $16 million to support loans to community development financial institutions (CDFIs) in the company’s footprint, and to support Black and other minority-owned small businesses. More information on Charter’s Community Impact initiatives is available at https://corporate.charter.com/community-impact.
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