2007 NCSF Scholarship Winners

Christina Beard and Evan Palmer, 2007 NCSF Scholarship winners

In 2007 the National Cartoonist Society Foundation, of which I am honored to be a board member and to serve on the scholarship committee as well as chair the investment committee, gave away two scholarship awards to college students studying cartooning/animation. That year the awards were the Herblock and Mendez awards, named after the estates that provided the funds. This being our first year of giving out scholarships, we presented the awards to a single school, the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD), and they were dispersed to two deserving students studying comic art and animation.

Wednesday I had the pleasure of attending MCAD’s Annual Partners in Scholarship Luncheon, where I got a chance to meet the two students who benefited from the NCSF’s generosity in this, their senior year at the art school.

Christina Beard is a west coast native who braved the wicked winters of Minnesota to attend school at MCAD studying animation and comic art. She is specializing in character design and game design, and also does illustration and comic book work. After graduation this spring she intends to pursue a career in the gaming industry doing 3D illustration, graphics and design for computer games and programs. Check out her website for some great samples of her work.

Evan Palmer also had to face the cold hard realities of the northern climates when he moved here from Louisiana for school at MCAD. A traditional comic artist, Evan plans to pursue work in the comic book field after graduation and a planned internship with a comic book studio. You can check out Evan’s work at his website.

These young adults are very talented and were truly grateful for the scholarship awards the NCSF provided. In some cases it allowed a continuation of their education that otherwise would not have been financially possible. It was great to see the direct results of the scholarship money first hand, and I had a pleasant lunch chatting with Evan and Christina about last year of school and their future plans.

The NCSF’s scholarship program has changed a little (it’s no longer tied to a single school) but is fulfilling the same function this year and in future years with the Jay Kennedy Scholarship as well as some other awards that are available. The NCSF needs both applicants and, more importantly, continued donations to help more students like Evan and Christina fulfill their dreams of completing college and embarking on a career in cartooning. Visit the NCSF scholarship page for the address to send donations, and look for that to be updated soon with info on next year’s application requirements and deadline.