3rd Annual Nels Scholarship Winner!

Today marks a now yearly occasion that is both somber and uplifting for Certain Affinity, our awarding of the Nels Memorial Scholarship in partnership with SMU Guildhall. Now three years strong, we continue to be amazed at the level of students that apply each year to receive the scholarship. It’s really amazing to see all the different backgrounds and goals from each student, as our award committee narrows down everyone to the final winner each year. For those wondering, all submissions are anonymized to make it as fair as possible for everyone involved in the process, and all submissions aim to continue Nels Nelson’s legacy of excellence, generosity, and leadership.

For this year, amid the still ongoing pandemic, we kept the presentation virtual in order to allow as many people to attend as possible. Thankfully, not only were friends and family of this year’s recipient in attendance but so was last year’s honoree, Rebecca McManamy. We were also overjoyed to have some members of Nels’ family on-hand for the virtual awarding of this year’s scholarship, which really made us even more proud to continue this award in Nels’ honor.

On this day, however, the honor belonged to the winner of the third-annual Nels Memorial scholarship. They were chosen surrounding a tight grading process that looks at their school work, general hobbies, and of course, their impact on the community around them. We’re overjoyed to announce that this year’s winner is Emma Anderson. Not only was their passion for the industry evident from their submission, but through their extracurriculars and community focus, we knew that the award was going to the right place. We’re looking forward to seeing Emma’s bright future on display in the future!

After the award ceremony we wanted to continue with an industry-specific portion of the event by bringing on a handful of our own Guildhall Alumni and members of our studio from various disciplines to answer other student questions. Many questions ranged from how to get into the industry, tips and tricks for their resumes and portfolios, and of course, how to get their foot in the door once ready to hit the ground running within the industry. There may have even been a few pointers when it comes to virtual interviews compared to in-person.

We’re so proud of Emma for being our third winner of this ongoing scholarship, celebrating Nels’ legacy, and we’re looking forward to awarding a new recipient in 2022!