Two Strat Comm Students Selected for AAF St. Louis Scholarship
Columbia, Mo. (Nov. 29, 2017) — Strategic communication students Dun Li and Denajha Phillips were awarded a $1,000 scholarship from the American Advertising Federation (AAF) St. Louis Chapter for the 2018 spring semester.
The scholarship was awarded to both students for their high academic performance, involvement in MU’s AAF chapter, and their passion for the advertising industry.
“Winning the scholarship opens up a great opportunity to join the industry mavens on the stage, to help me advance my goal of forging a professional advertising career while further honing my skills; furthermore, it grants me a window through which I can share my vision on the industry,” said Li. “This scholarship means a lot to me because I, an aspiring advertising professional, always crave the kind of new discoveries and learning that can be made possible by this opportunity.”
Li is a senior studying market intelligence in the strategic communication department. As part of an honors project, he served as a campaign strategist for the Foundation for Essential Needs, a non-profit based in Minneapolis. The project resulted in a campaign that helped raise more than $5,000 to provide meals to children living in poverty in Minnesota. Li was also on one of the top 20 teams in the 2016 Adobe Analytics Challenge after defeating over 1,500 contestants from 70 universities across the United States.
This fall, Li is a researcher for MOJO Ad, the premiere student-staffed, professional advertising agency at the Missouri School of Journalism.
Phillips is a junior at MU and is just beginning to get involved in AAF. She has an interest in social media marketing and hopes to learn more about the many facets of strategic communication in the semesters to come. Phillips is also passionate about the advertising industry and eager to break in to the business as a digital strategist.
“I was thrilled after finding out I had won,” said Phillips. “I have never won a scholarship this profound before. I felt blessed to know that AAF chose not one, but two Mizzou students; making me even more proud to be a Mizzou Tiger.”
Phillips has an expansive resume at MU; she is the communications chair for the Legion of Black Collegians, a student ambassador for the Missouri School of Journalism, a mentor for the MU TRiO Program, a member of the National Association of Black Journalists, and an intern for Chancellor Cartwright under the Department of Strategic Communications and Marketing.
“It’s exciting that both scholarships from Ad Club St. Louis this year were awarded to Mizzou students,” said Holly Higginbotham, the faculty advisor for AAF Mizzou and an associate professor in strategic communication. “Both Dun and Denajha are standout students in our strategic communication program, and we’re glad their accomplishments both in and outside the classroom were recognized by the scholarship committee.”
About AAF Mizzou
AAF Mizzou is one of more than 200 college chapters of the national American Advertising Federation. It provides Mizzou students with the opportunity to learn more about the advertising and communication industry through regular chapter meetings, local programs and events, industry speakers, regional career fairs and organized agency tours in cities like St. Louis, Kansas City and Chicago. It also is the sponsoring organization for the National Student Advertising Competition.
Updated: October 26, 2020