Scholarship recipients

Each year, NATAS-UMW Foundation awards several scholarships to students within our chapter region (Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and western Wisconsin).

This year, thanks to help from generous sponsorship contributions from the Bob Fransen Family, The Ulysses Carlini family, The Beaurline Family Foundation, as well as our chapter members and past Gold & Silver Circle honorees, we are able to award scholarships to area students! This year’s scholarship recipients will receive $1,500 for tuition & books costs for school in the fall of 2022.

Since 2002, the NATAS-UMW Foundation has awarded 98 scholarships worth $221,000 to regional students who want to study media production or journalism in college.

COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPs
2023 Recipients
BOB FRANSEN LEADERSHIP SCHOLARSHIP
Ashley Weil - University of Iowa

Ashley is the News Director for Daily Iowan TV an independent, student-managed media organization that broadcasts live 15-minute newscasts three times per week.

Ashely leads a 12-person editorial and production team. “She has an ability to communicate in an engaging, collegial manner. Her team respects her, learns from her, and improves because of her,” said Charles Munro the Daily Iowan TV Coach.

As a student, Ashley has completed a range of assignments from gathering news items, submitting ideas, making editorial decisions, shooting, writing, and editing stories into broadcast-worthy news pieces against deadline.

ULYSSES CARLINI MEDIA SCHOLARSHIP
Lilly Marohn - St. Cloud State University

Lilly is the News Director for UTVS (University Television Station) in St. Cloud, Minnesota. She creates and advises on weekly, local newscasts at the student-run station. Lilly has worked as an anchor, reporter, and producer.

Lilly also creates daily content targeted at children as part of the TikTok creator fund. Videos have more than 300k followers and millions of 1ikes and views. She recently expanded and changed content to longer set videos on YouTube.

Lilly is an active volunteer in her community. She assists in planning and preparing the annual Great Strides Event raising awareness and support for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

Beaurline Foundation SCHOLARSHIP
Emma Criswell - University of Northern Iowa

Emma is currently working with ESPN for UNI’s home games as producer and a camera operator. On camera, she follows the action, gets hero shots, and close ups of players/coaches. As a producer, she updates player information, launching graphics, and communicating with announcers, and on-site director.

Emma has worked men's and women's basketball, softball, football, wrestling, soccer, and volleyball since January 2022 and plans to continue working part time after graduation. She recently started working for a local sports talk radio station in Cedar Falls called 1650 102.3 The Fan.

Besides sports, Emma is a talented screenwriter and videographer who has excelled in multiple organizations on campus and beyond.

HIGH SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIPs
2022 Recipients
high school scholarship
Emma Stroner - Webster City High School (IowA)

Emma Stroner is very active in WCTV at Webster City High School in Iowa. She’s a two-time Upper Midwest Emmy® Foundation Student Production Award Nominee. She is a former WCTV Student Director and has won several awards from her school TV station.

Emma is active outside the TV studio too. She competes in speech, is active in plays & musicals, and is a basketball & football cheerleader.

Emma will go to Drake University this fall to study at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication with our Emmy® Scholarship and a Presidential Scholarship.

HIGH SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIP
Nathan Selander - Southwest High School (Minneapolis)

Nathan Selander is Director of Cinematography - Anchor News at Southwest High School in Minneapolis. Nathan learns by doing! He hasn’t had any formal internships for TV, Film, or Media, but he’s created a handful of short film projects for film classes.

Nathan did an in-depth film project as part of a FilmNorth Academy last summer. He created a short commercial where he learned more about how to create meaningful visuals in hopes of positively impacting the audience.

Nathan regularly volunteers at Second Harvest Heartland, Feed My Starving Children, Salvation Army, the Animal Humane Society, and youth scouting efforts. He will study film at DePaul University in Chicago this fall.