Warner Bros. Studios has announced high school seniors Nicole Calderon, Syed Ibrahim, Kashawn Campbell, Jacqueline Gunning, Makenzie Kizis and Mariah-Rose McClaren as its 2012 Reach Honorship recipients.
Through its Reach program, Warner Bros. awards scholarship-internship packages, known as Honorships, to six graduating high school seniors passionate about the business of entertainment. As part of these Honorships, students are awarded scholarships as well as paid work experiences at Warner Bros. during the summers they are in college. Additionally, each summer they are provided mentoring and networking opportunities with entertainment industry professionals. Successful Reach program graduates are eligible for full-time positions at the company after completing their degrees.
“The Reach program allows us to tap into the talent in our local community,” said Michael Walbrecht, Vice President, Public Affairs, Warner Bros. Entertainment. “We are committed to the professional development and career success of our Reach recipients, and the internships provide them with the unique opportunity to gain practical experience within multiple departments at Warner Bros. while honing crucial business skills and building relationships with industry professionals.”
Nicole Calderon and Syed Ibrahim, both graduating seniors from Burbank High School, are this year’s winners of the Burbank Reach Honorships, created specifically for residents of the Studio’s longtime hometown. Calderon will be a freshman at the University of California Santa Barbara in the Fall and plans to major jointly in economics and communications. Ibrahim will be attending the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California starting in the Spring of 2013 and will be pursuing a degree in business administration with an emphasis in marketing. Both will receive a $10,000 college scholarship coupled with the opportunity to complete four consecutive, paid summer internships at the Studio while in The Los Angeles County Reach Honorships were awarded to Kashawn Campbell, Jacqueline Gunning and Makenzie Kizis. All three students will also receive a $10,000 college scholarship and the opportunity to complete up to four paid summer internships at the Studio.
A graduating senior at Thomas Jefferson High School, Campbell will be attending the University of California Berkeley, majoring in communications. Gunning, who attends Champs Charter High School, was accepted into the honors program at California State University Chico and plans to major in communications. Following graduation from Malibu High School, Kizis will be attending Tulane University in New Orleans this fall and will focus on international relations, Mariah-Rose McClaren is this year’s winner of the Warner Bros. Animation/Hanna-Barbera Reach Honorship. In addition to a $10,000 college scholarship, she will be offered internship positions in the Studio’s animation department, learning from some of the best in the business. McClaren, a student at Millard North High School in Omaha, Nebraska, will attend Santa Monica City College and pursue a degree in animation.
For more information on the Reach Program, visit www.wbcitizenship.com .
