• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, December 23, 2015

Collective and The 4A's Foundation have announced the winner of the first Bill Caspare Memorial Fund Scholarship, established to support diversity in the New Media, Data Science and Product Development disciplines within advertising and media.

The winner of the scholarship, Nikita Metharamani, a junior majoring in “The Art of Marketing and Media” at New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study, was awarded the $10,000 scholarship fund. 

Metharamani, a first-generation American whose father moved here from Calcutta, works as a marketing and branding intern at Morgan Stanley. She is also a staff writer at The Washington Square News as well as a writer and photographer for the Violet Vision Fashion Blog. Previously, Metharamani held advertising, PR and marketing internships at LE BOOK and LeadDog Marketing Group, and worked as Section Editor at Baedeker Travel Magazine.

“We’re pleased to be able to offer such a bright and hard-working young person with a passion for advertising and communications this scholarship," says Collective’s CEO Joe Apprendi, noting that Metharamani's drive, spirit and work ethic mirror Bill Caspare’s dedication to transforming the ad industry through technology.

Created in memory of former Collective Senior Executive Bill Caspare, the funding intends to support diversity in the new media, data science and product development.

Collective and The 4A's Foundation launched the memorial fund in October 2015. At that time Apprendi told MediaPost that Caspare stood behind several successful digital ventures including db Ad Strategies, The Fifth Network, and Oggifinogi. 

The 2016 scholarship will accept applications beginning February 2016. More info on that becomes available in Jan. 

Full-time students interested in pursuing a career in new media, digital advertising or data science -- heading into their junior or senior year at the time of application -- are eligible to apply and for The Collective Bill Caspare Memorial Fund Scholarship if they have a GPA of 3.25 or above, and are a U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident; African American, Asian American, Hispanic American, Native American, Multiracial or LGBT.