GIA Offers New Spring Scholarships for 2011

Richard T. Liddicoat scholarship winners named

CARLSBAD, Calif. – March 1, 2011 – GIA (Gemological Institute of America) announced today that it will offer additional education scholarships for students during the 2011 academic year. Applications are being accepted through April 30 and can be downloaded from the GIA website. Scholarship recipients will be eligible for 2011 participation in a variety of eLearning courses available worldwide, as well as on-campus laboratory classes in the U.S.  

The new application period augments GIA’s broader annual fall offerings. The scholarships are supported by private donors and the GIA endowment fund. They include the GIA 80th Anniversary eLearning Scholarship, with multiple $1,500 awards available for any eLearning course; and the GIA 80th Anniversary Lab Scholarship, with a number of $1,295 awards available for lab classes (U.S. residents only).

“We are very pleased to supplement our 2011 scholarship season with an additional application period providing educational opportunities for students in need,” said Bev Berthoty, GIA Institute Relations manager. “The Institute is proud to play a role in making these awards available to deserving individuals who possess a strong desire to advance their gemological careers.”

See complete details on all available scholarships and their entry requirements.

RTL Scholarship Winners Announced
The Institute also recently named the 2011 winners of the GIA Richard T. Liddicoat (RTL) Scholarships, which were created by the GIA Alumni Association in 2003 to honor Liddicoat, the Institute’s longtime president and chairman.

This year’s winners are Della Weichert, of Myersville, Md., and Jaron Maxion-Segal, of La Mesa, Calif. Weichert owns a small jewelry business and plans to use the scholarship to add a Graduate Gemologist (G.G.) diploma to the bachelor’s degree in music she already holds. She wants to more actively pursue her dreams of becoming a gemology instructor.

Maxion-Segal graduated from high school in June 2010 and immediately enrolled in the GIA Graduate Jeweler program. His plans include earning a G.G. diploma, followed by a degree at a four-year university. Ultimately, Maxion-Segal wants to earn a master’s degree in jewelry and a teaching credential.

The RTL Fund reflects GIA’s and Liddicoat’s mission to provide gemological education to students in need by awarding full scholarships for the G.G. diploma program each year.

For more information about GIA scholarships, call (760) 603-4131 or e-mail scholarship@gia.edu.