Stefanie Wheeler Receives 2011 Fordham University Casey Feldman Foundation Scholarship

Casey’s parents, Dianne Anderson and Joel Feldman with Stefanie Wheeler at the awards ceremony

Stefanie Wheeler, a Fordham University senior and Online Editor of The Observer, the student newspaper of Fordham University,  received the Casey Feldman Scholarship for 2011. Ms. Wheeler was recognized at the Senior Leadership Awards dinner at Fordham University on May 5, 2011, which was attended by Casey’s parents, Joel Feldman and Dianne Anderson.

The Casey Feldman Memorial Foundation awards an annual scholarship to a Fordham College at Lincoln Center (Forhdam University) Communications and Media Studies major for financial assistance to accept and complete an otherwise unpaid internship. Internships are essential to students to gain experience in their field and and provide greater opportunities to secure employment upon graduation. Many students have to decline internships for financial reasons and accept in the alternative, a paid position in whatever will provide them with some income.

Stefanie was able to intern this spring at FOX News in NYC. Stephanie wrote about the  significance of this scholarship for her in the following note to the Foundation:

Stefanie Wheeler receiving the award from the Rev. Michael Tueth, S.J.

[The Foundation has] helped me more than you can imagine and my appreciation will be ever lasting.   Because of the Casey Feldman  award, I was able to hold an internship at Fox News with The O’Reilly Factor this semester which was a total dream come true.  This most likely could not have been possible without the gracious grant I received through your foundation.   My internship was truly the most amazing experience I could have ever asked for and I acquired such a great foundation for my future in broadcast journalism. I walked out of the Fox News building everyday after interning feeling so grateful for everything I was learning from the most talented people in the industry.  As most students studying Communication or Journalism know, internships are key to securing a job after graduation and in those industries, most internships are unpaid.  While the opportunity to intern with a great corporation is priceless, living in one of the most expensive cities in the country can make it tough.  I am forever grateful for you, not only for playing such a instrumental part in my internship experience this semester, but also for your generous donations to The Observer, part of which paid for my trip to the ACP last year in Phoenix.  I cannot thank you enough […]

As of this writing, Stefanie has graduated and has had three interviews for a fulltime position with FOX News!

View additional photos from the awards dinner. Read the article about the Foundation’s grant for Stefanie and others to attend the ACP (Associated Collegiate Press) convention in Phoenix in 2010. Read about last year’s scholarship recipients.