Kent State Student Receives High Honor from PCMA

Kent State University student Brittany Nemeth was awarded one of the highest Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) honors. She was one of two students chosen to be a Chairman’s Scholarship recipient. She will receive complimentary registration, airfare and hotel accommodations at the MGM Grand during the 2011 PCMA Meeting in Las Vegas.

Nemeth, a native of Strongsville, Ohio, is a junior hospitality management and dance major with a minor in education. She serves as the vice president of the Kent State University Chapter of Professional Convention Management Association.

“I never thought that I would receive a scholarship of this magnitude,” Nemeth said. “I am truly honored and privileged that the PCMA Board of Trustees has selected me for the Chairman’s Scholarship and I am very excited for the opportunities presented for me at convention.

“My future goal is to coordinate events at Radio City Music Hall in New York City,” Nemeth continued. “The scholarship to attend convention will now provide me with the opportunity to network with industry professionals all over the country that will hopefully lead me to connections to further my career goal.”

The PCMA Board of Trustees presents the Chairman’s Scholarship to two students from across the United States, Canada and Mexico. Applicants for the scholarship must be a student member of a PCMA chapter, compose a written essay based on their future goals and why attending convention would benefit not only them but their university, provide letters of recommendations, and present a resume. Based on the above mentioned criteria, the PCMA Board of Trustees narrows down their search to the students who they believe are the most qualified and who will best represent them at the 2011 Annual Meeting.

Scholarship applications are received by the PCMA Education Foundation twice each year, in March and October. Once an application is received at PCMA headquarters, staff reviews to ensure that all of the criteria is met, including membership status, grade point average (GPA) and letters of reference. Those applications that qualify are then sent to the foundation’s grant and scholarship review committee, a group comprised of several members of the Foundation Board of Trustees. Members of the committee receive all applications and then review separately before joining the rest of the committee for a conference call. On the conference call, committee members discuss all applicants until they decide on the recommended recipients. The recommended recipients are then sent to the remaining members of the Board of Trustees for approval. Once approved, scholarship winners are contacted by PCMA and all applicants are notified of the decision.

For more information about Kent State’s Hospitality Management program and PCMA, visit www.kent.edu/ehhs/hm.

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Photo Caption:
Kent State University student Brittany Nemeth stands by a sign listing her name as one of the two Chairman’s Scholarship winners awarded by the Professional Convention Management Association.

Media Contacts:
Swathi Ravichandran, sravicha@kent.edu, 330-672-7314
Emily Vincent, evincen2@kent.edu, 330-672-8595