Beaudry Establishes Education Scholarship

By Tara J. McKenna

Michael Beaudry, president of Michael Beaudry Inc., considers himself to be very fortunate to have found lasting success in the gem and jewelry industry. So after 17 years in business, he wanted to express his gratitude by establishing the largest GIA Graduate Jeweler Gemologist (G.J.G.) scholarship to date with a gift of $164,450.

The Michael Beaudry Scholarship will provide five prospective GIA students with fully paid tuition to the Institute’s G.J.G. with Design and Wax diploma program. The first scholarship will be awarded in 2006.

“The scholarship was really the most tangible way for us to have a direct impact on someone interested in our industry,” Beaudry says. “We chose the G.J.G. program because it will allow someone to follow in my footsteps and will give them a well-rounded base to get into the business.

“I want to give back to the industry that has been so rewarding for me and my company and to inspire students to reach for what I believe is the most comprehensive GIA program,” he says.

Beaudry entered the jewelry industry in the late 1980s after completing GIA’s Diamond Grading course and a three-year program from the American School of Diamond Cutting in Whittier, California. He opened Centerstone Diamonds, a small diamond importing and cutting firm in Los Angeles, soon after. But it was his hobby of sketching designs that led to him opening Michael Beaudry Inc., known today as Beaudry, in 1994.

The company’s line of jewelry, sold at high-end retailers throughout the United States, found much success from the beginning and is still expanding. The company exhibited internationally for the first time at the Basel show in April.

“We are extremely grateful for Michael’s generosity,” says Linda Ellis Harmeling, vice president of Development. “The Michael Beaudry Scholarship is a wonderful way for GIA to continue to ensure the public trust, one person at a time.”

Beaudry will be inducted into the GIA League of Honor in October and a classroom at GIA’s world headquarters in Carlsbad, California, will be named after his company in recognition of his gift.