- BYU
College of Fine Arts and Communications Giving to the College How Gifts Are Helping Oscarson Discovery Grant Winners Oscarson Discovery Grants
The Oscarson Discovery Grant Endowment encourages support for outstanding students to "be discovered" by the professional world, as they attempt to launch careers in their disciplins.
Here are some comments from some grateful Oscarson Grant recipients.
Los Angeles Photo Internship
“This year I was granted the Oscarson Discovery Grant for my internship experience in Los Angeles…My internship was with Jerry Garns at Jerry Garns Studio. He is a commercial photographer mostly shooting for the automotive industry. He also does some corporate work and product . My experience with Mr. Garns was ideal because at this time he has no employees and his busiest season of the year was these last two months. It allowed me to see fist hand the different sides of the business. I learned about the process of preproduction, production of a shoot, and postproduction…My experience with Mr. Garns gave me a better perspective of the business side of how this industry works. This experience has advanced me in my career objectives. I was offered part time employment with Mr. Garns. I also have been able to network through Mr. Garns and with several assistant photographers."
Amy Fisler
Photography
Brigham Young University
Utah Shakespearean Festival
"I want to thank you … for your generosity in helping to fund my internship opportunity that I took part in this Spring/Summer. I was excited to be able to work at the Utah Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City, Utah. I was able to work as a first hand during May and June. My duties included assisting the designer and draper during fittings and rehearsals, cutting fabric to make costumes and supervising the stitchers. This experience gave me the opportunity to improve my skills in working with fabrics and working as a team to accomplish the goals of costuming a show. I also had the opportunity to enter a makeup competition which also in an emphasis of my degree at BYU. The competition was in Pasadena, California… This gave me the opportunity to develop new skills as I attended workshops and participated in the competition,. I also learned about new products and met with professional sin the field of makeup…Through working at the Shakespearean Festival, I made some work contacts and as a result was recently offered a job working at a costume house in New York City."
Sarah Lock
Theater and Media Arts
Brigham Young University
Internship at Newsweek
"I used my grant to help support me as I interned in New York City with Newsweek Magazine. As an intern, I was assigned to work in the Tip Sheet section of the magazine Tip Sheet is full of consumer reviews, household hints and miscellaneous recommendations for readers. It is written in a feature style about lighter topics, I was able to five “by-lines,” that is, five articles with my name appearing in the magazine as the author. I also wrote a number of smaller, unnamed items such as publicizing events, Web sites, contests, and books. This meant that 3.1 million subscribers could read my work in Newsweek’s domestic addition…. Overall, working at Newsweek was a growing time for me, both personally and professionally…already my experience had paid off (by giving me a competitive edge) and given me a chance for another internship, which I begin Sept.12 in Washington, D.C. [working for political columnist Robert Novak]."
Carrie Sheffield
Communications
Brigham Young University
Internship at a NY Ad Agency
I had the opportunity to work as an Art Director at Ogilvy and Mather [an advertising firm]. I was able to work on several different accounts, such as Delta Airlines, American Express, Hershey’s, and Slim Fast. My partner/copywriter and I were able to do some very good work and we were able to produce things that actually ran from day one. Our creative directors gained confidence in us very quickly and at the end of our internship we both had job offers to stay on and freelance.
Brandt Lewis
Advertising
Brigham Young University
Italian Opera Workshop
"It is with great pleasure that I write you to report of my experiences this summer performing in an Opera Workshop in Nova Feltria, Italy. … Let me start by explaining an average week … Every morning from 8am-12pm we would have intense Italian language training…Our teacher did not speak English… I received two voice lessons a week. I was very excited to learn that they had faculty there that had performed at the Metropolitan Opera at New York City and throughout the United States and Europe…We had one Master class a week. A group of pre-selected students would be able to perform for Joseph Rescignio, who currently is the maestro at New York City Opera…I loved the experience, loved the training, and I am grateful that you made it possible."
Juan Hector Pereira
Vocal Performance
Brigham Young University
Internship with ABC News in NYC
"As my internship experience comes to a close, I’d like to thank you again and again for helping make this dream become a reality. For the past year and a half I have tailored my school and job experience to come to New York and work at a major network. Having worked so hard, my expectations were high, but I can say without hesitation that my experiences at ABC News and in New York City are ones that I will never forget…At ABC News I worked specifically for the 20/20 and Primetime Live News magazines. In these areas of the network I played an active and essential role in the production of the stories that aired on television…I gained relationships with producers and correspondents while working at ABC. These relationships I gained will help me as I enter the real world and look for a job in the news industry. Even more than networking power, these relationships offer a mentoring friendship. The people I have met and worked with have taught me how to be a more effective employee and how to do the job right. They have taught me about the impact news can have and how I can literally be a par of that. These relationships are the highlight of my internship experience."
Katie Waterfall
Communications
Brigham Young University
International Society of Bassists Winner
"I am very pleased to report the R. Don and Shirley Oscarson Discovery Grant proved to be extremely helpful in surpassing even [my wildest dreams]…Not only did the funds make it possible for [me] to attend the conventional at a severely reduced rate, but from a professional and exposure standpoint there could have been nothing better.
[I] participated in the International Society of Bassists solo competition in the jazz division. An undisclosed number of applications submitted entries for the final round… Of those entries, eleven competitors were selected, given a 30-minute rehearsal with the house pianist and drummer, and a 20-minute performance…When all was said and done, I was awarded second place in the competition. I was recognized at the convention’s opening night…
Not only was I able to perform with and for many of my heroes, I further bolstered the probability of obtaining scholarships for graduate school, for which I will be applying this coming year…A better opportunity for networking and exposure couldn’t exist for an aspiring bass player."
Regan Brough
Music Performance
Brigham Young University
Last modified: November 14, 2006 Maintained by CFAC Webmasters.
Copyright © 1994-2006. Brigham Young University. All Rights Reserved.