The American Hotel & Lodging Educational Foundation (AH&LEF), the not-for-profit affiliate of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA), administers three scholarships on behalf of American Express, Ecolab, and PepsiCo.  These scholarship programs, totaling $39,000, contribute to AH&LEF’s total of almost $400,000 in academic scholarships awarded annually.

- The American Express Scholarship Program awarded 6 scholarships totaling $10,000. Founded in 1994 by American Express, it is designed specifically for current hotel employees and their dependants. The fund has awarded more than $286,000 in scholarships to 252 students and hotel employees. The program also offers professional development scholarships for distance learning and certification offered through the Educational Institute (EI).

- The Ecolab Scholarship Program awarded $22,000 in funds to 12 full-time undergraduate students.  Established by Ecolab in 1997, the program has awarded more than $304,000 to 211 hospitality management students and hotel professionals. The program also supports scholarships for professional certification offered through EI.

- The Pepsi Scholarship awarded six alumni of the Hospitality High School in Washington D.C., a total of $7,000 to continue their hospitality management studies in college. The PepsiCo Foundation established this fund with a $250,000 gift to provide perpetual scholarships to the school’s graduates.

Scholarships are awarded based on academic performance, hospitality work experience, financial need, and other requirements based on specific criteria of the scholarship. Last year, AH&LEF distributed almost $800,000 to prepare promising college students for a career in hospitality, attract and retain quality industry professionals, and fund valuable research for lodging properties.

“These scholarships ensure that the lodging industry has the talent to fuel its future growth with a strong pipeline of future employees,” said Joori Jeon, CPA, CAE, AH&LEF president/COO. “Funded solely by contributions from the hospitality sector, the Foundation’s mission for preparing hospitality future leaders would not be possible without the financial support of these great industry partners.”