Established in 1999, the Alumni Scholarship Awards are presented annually to SVA students. “In this unprecedented time, students are still finding ways to make their work,” says Miranda Pierce, associate director of Alumni Affairs and Development, who also spearheads this annual program. “The Alumni Scholarship Awards program always shows the strength of the SVA community—alumni donating to support students looking ahead to entering the job market. But this year, you could feel it even more as the panelists deliberated, well aware of the additional challenges the students were facing.”

“I feel so honored and delighted to receive this award for my project,” says Miki Isayama (BFA Design), who is launching a biannual magazine focused on the traditional Japanese lifestyle, called Wabi Sabi. “Because of this scholarship, I will be able to curate and refine my project further and expand the possibility of my work.”

“Winning this scholarship is everything! ... It’s providing me with the financial support needed to tell the story about an underserved community that would otherwise not ever be told,” says Lisa Durden (MFA Social Documentary Film). Through her thesis documentary, Durden tells the story of her brother, Kesis Amdetsion, a respected priest and rising leader in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

59 SVA Students Are Awarded $40,500 Worth of Scholarships for their Original Projects