Castillo and Cruz named 2017-2018 YALSA Spectrum Scholars

For Immediate Release
Mon, 12/11/2017

Contact:

Anna Lam

Communications Specialist

Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA)

alam@ala.org

CHICAGO —The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) has announced Andrea Castillo from the University of Maryland and Jose Cruz from the University of South Florida as their 2017-2018 Spectrum Scholars.

Castillo and Cruz will each receive $5,000 to combat the rising cost of graduate education as well as $1,500 to attend the Spectrum Leadership Institute held during the 2018 ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans, LA. In addition to financial support, recipients benefit from peer mentoring and a large alumni network. Critical for long-term impact, the program offers continuing education and professional development opportunities foundational to obtaining leadership positions within the profession.

The Spectrum Scholarship program actively recruits and provides scholarships to American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Middle Eastern and North African, and/or Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander students to assist them with obtaining a graduate degree and leadership positions within the profession and ALA.

YALSA’s participation in the Spectrum Scholarship program is funded through the Friends of YALSA (FOY). Each year, FOY donations fund over $14,000 in member awards, grants, scholarships, and stipends.

Friends of YALSA was created in 2005 to ensure excellence in the Association's traditional programs and services to library workers serving teens and to support growth in new directions as our profession meets the exciting challenges of the 21st century. Learn more or donate at http://www.ala.org/yalsa/givetoyalsa/foy.

The mission of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) is to support library staff in alleviating the challenges teens face, and in putting all teens ‒ especially those with the greatest needs ‒ on the path to successful and fulfilling lives. For more information about YALSA or to access national guidelines and other resources go to www.ala.org/yalsa, or contact the YALSA office by phone, 800-545-2433, ext. 4390; or e-mail: yalsa@ala.org.