Congrats to our 2023-24 Scholarships & Award Recipients

John is graduating with an MBA/MA degree and Graduate Diploma in Arts, Media, and Entertainment Management. His MA in Musicology culminated in a paper entitled “Pi Recordings: 100 Crucial Records in 21st-Century Jazz,” which he passed with distinction. He is excited to begin a career in arts & culture management, starting off as Development Manager for Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra & Chamber Choir. Prior to working at Tafelmusik, he worked for several years in the performing arts sector in sales and marketing. John studied jazz trumpet performance at McGill University and maintains his practice as a musician, composer, and educator. 

Sophia Katzell is pursuing an MBA/MA in Arts, Media, and Entertainment Management and Marketing with a concentration in theatrical economies, or, how theatre can be made economically viable for its practitioners. She has worked in marketing marketer across various industries, and has stage managed theatre everywhere from the New Works festival in Edmonton, Alberta, to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Her passion lies in killing the idea of the "starving artist" by merging business strategies with the arts.

Pursuing an MBA at Schulich School of Business, York University with a specialization in Arts, Media, and Entertainment Management, Sakib is an entrepreneur with five years of experience in the media production industry of Bangladesh. During his career, he has worked on producing documentaries and commercials for some of the leading multinational brands operating in Bangladesh. Sakib aims to drive growth of the arts and media sector by bridging the gap between creative professionals and business leaders. 

Pursuing a M.B.A./M.A. at Schulich (York University) with a specialization in Arts, Media, and Entertainment management, Kathy Wang is a writer and researcher based in Vancouver (Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh). Kathy has published and presented their writing in Pivot, the Journal of Visual and Critical Studies, Asian Global Cultural Studies Forum and others. 

Lauren is graduating with her MBA/JD from the Schulich School of Business and Osgoode Hall Law School, with a Specialization in Arts, Media & Entertainment Management. She spent the past two summers working for the annual Toronto Summer Music Festival. She has worked as a copyright law research assistant, as well as a TA for undergraduate business students at Schulich. Prior to beginning her MBA/JD, she worked in consulting for two years, and she completed her Bachelor of Arts from Queen’s University. She is excited to begin her policy career after graduation, helping creators as an articling student with the federal department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. In her spare time, Lauren loves watching films and TV, attending music festivals and concerts, and working on her writing. 

Jiwei Shang, an event and large-scale exhibition specialist with over 6 years of experience in event planning, project management, and fundraising, has demonstrated a solid ability to lead vital initiatives and exceed organizational goals. Her vision is to help the world be a better place for life through art intervention. 

Emily is a dual MBA & MFA Screenwriting Fellow. Emily founded and operates the start-up production company Hugo Pictures Inc, where she develops and produces both fiction and documentary content.