January 11, 2024 | Faith Lee (Communications Intern) and Kelly Youngblood
Updated 2/15/2024
Four seniors in the were named to the 鈥攁n honor given to only 50 students each year throughout the United States. Honorees include advertising majors Aniya Davis, Lauren Jenkins, Naomi Muuzic, and Olivia Wallace (pictured above).
The selected students participated in an with the highest-level industry executives and companies in New York on February 4-9, 2024. The program included professional development and personal branding workshops, the “Building Bridges for Our Future” Awards Ceremony and Luncheon, and Recruiter’s Expo.
鈥淎 really big highlight was attending the different agencies and hearing about their work culture, and what they do, and how much they love what they do in the industry,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淚 think realizing that going into this industry, it鈥檚 going to be filled with passion, it鈥檚 going to be filled with excitement鈥eally solidified my knowledge [that] this is what I want to do.鈥�
In 1997, the American Advertising Federation created the Most Promising Multicultural Students program to connect the advertising industry with the nation鈥檚 top multicultural college students. Since the program鈥檚 inception, the AAF Illinois chapter has had more winners than any other university or college.
Recognizing the top 50 multicultural college seniors across the nation, the Most Promising program promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion within the advertising industry, giving advertising, media, communications, and tech companies the opportunity to tap into high-achieving talent of diverse college students from across the country.
Each year, students of racial or ethnic diversity from the AAF鈥檚 140+ college chapters apply to the program. Advertising leaders select the highest-achieving diverse seniors to participate. This year鈥檚 judging panel included thought leaders with a range of backgrounds and experience and from companies such as Amazon Ads, Ogilvy, Snap, The Trade Desk, Vox Media, and Whirlpool.
The event serves as a recruiting opportunity for industry leaders to develop a diverse group, representing the best from the country to serve as the next generation of advertising leaders. It also offers students invaluable network, learning, and immersion experiences with professionals from top advertisers, media companies, and advertising agencies.