Students Diana Chavez and Karl Washington each win $2,500 and a paid Signal Theory internship in partnership with The BrandLab
Signal Theory, in partnership with The BrandLab, awarded its 2024 Resonance Scholarship to two area college students during a celebration for all of The BrandLab’s summer interns.
Diana Chavez is a freshman at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where she is studying marketing in the Bloch School of Business. Karl Washington is a sophomore at the Kansas City Art
Institute where he is studying animation with a minor in sound. Chavez and Washington will each receive $2,500
toward college expenses and a paid internship at
Signal Theory in an upcoming summer.
“Diana and Karl are both accomplished students, and we are impressed with everything they are doing to develop their marketing and creative skills,” said John January, co-CEO of Signal Theory. “Both show curiosity, passion for creating great work and a desire to share their perspectives. We’re as eager to learn from them as they are from us.”
Resonance Scholarship Recipients
Chavez grew up in Kansas City, Kan., and attended JC Harmon High School. She is taking summer classes at Kansas City Kansas Community College this summer before starting at UMKC in the fall. There, she will be a member of the university’s First Gen Roo, Professional Career Escalators and Honors programs. She interned for The BrandLab as a high school student and continues to develop her skills as a digital content creator for Emily’s World Thrift Store, a women and Latin-owned business in Kansas City, Kan.
Washington graduated a year early from Raytown High School in Raytown, Mo., and attended Herndon Career Technical Center while in high school. He is entering his sophomore year at KCAI. Inspired by the 2018 animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, he hopes to be a professional animator, and has had a chance to work on his craft through an internship with The BrandLab. Karl is a member of KCAI’s Black Student Union as well as being a student ambassador for incoming students.
“Karl and Diana are phenomenal examples of why programs like The BrandLab are so important,” said Depusoir-Cochrane. “Both have incredible talents and skills, and just needed that exposure to the advertising industry to light the spark. They have been amazing interns and active alumni of our programs and we feel so grateful that we had the opportunity to work with and learn from them.”
Partnering for Diversity in the Marketing and Creative Community
Signal Theory and The BrandLab started their partnership in 2021 in an effort to bring diverse voices to the advertising and marketing industry by helping address the barriers to entry.
“Signal Theory’s commitment to DEIB and the future of advertising will give a unique opportunity to these alumni, meeting both their financial needs while also committing to being a place that will cultivate them as professionals through a future internship opportunity,” said Depusoir-Cochrane. “I feel so fortunate to have had a front row seat to the beginning of Diana and Karl’s professional careers and I know myself and the rest of The BrandLab team are excited to be their #1 cheerleaders.”
Now in its fourth year, Signal Theory has awarded $35,000 to six students.
Updates on Prior Resonance Scholarship Recipients
2021:
- Dacia Hindsman is in her senior year at Langston University in Oklahoma. She completed a brand strategy internship at Signal Theory in summer 2023.
2022:
- Lyric Evans plans to continue her studies at UMKC in the fall.
2023:
- Amy Troung graduated from Kansas State University in May 2023 with a degree in marketing and certificates in marketing technology and data analytics. She is now working full-time at a Kansas City advertising agency.
- Aliya Kisivo completed a content strategy internship at Signal Theory this summer. She returns to the University of Kansas for her junior year, studying journalism with an emphasis in strategic communications. She is also minoring in business.
