ABOVE PHOTO: Cali Scholes, graphic communications student and Print and Graphics Scholarship Foundation scholarship recipient, in a UW-Stout GCOM lab.
Graphic communications is a major force in the economy, averaging more than 500 companies and 10,000 employees in every state and $1.8 billion in shipments each year, according to the Print and Graphics Scholarship Foundation.
“Some of the largest graphic communications-related employers worldwide are in the Midwest – in the Twin Cities, Fox Valley, Chicago, Milwaukee and Des Moines. UW-Stout is located centrally within this region and supplies the industry with qualified professionals,” said Chad Nyseth, graphic communications instructor and lab manager.
“UW-Stout and other graphic communications programs nationwide can’t supply enough graduates to fill available jobs. The industry, via organizations like PGSF, is stepping up efforts to educate students about potential careers, to support students with scholarships and internships, and to partner with institutions like UW-Stout,” he added.
To support students planning to enter the graphic communications field, the Print and Graphics Scholarship Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1956, selected six UW-Stout students to receive awards totaling $26,930 for the 2023-24 academic year.
Recipients are:
- Sam Huss, graphic communications, West Bend
- Erika Jackett, graphic communications, Hubertus
- Udit Patel, graphic communications, St. Paul
- Cali Scholes, graphic communications, DeForest
- Starr Gong, graphic design and interactive media, Altoona
- Carrigan Heinz, studio art, with a graphic media and print management minor, Mondovi
This year, PGSF received more than 1,400 applications. It awarded 155 students from 83 institutions across the U.S., with an average scholarship of more than $3,600.
“Our recipients’ awards show that UW-Stout’s graphics communication students are just as qualified and as worthy of recognition as students in the same major at much larger schools, like Clemson University or Cal Poly,” Nyseth said.
