AAPD and NBCUniversal Announce 2024 Recipients of the NBCUniversal Tony Coelho Media Scholarship

The scholarship is provided to undergraduate and graduate students with disabilities who are interested in increasing disability representation in their future careers in the communications, media, or entertainment industries.

November 14, 2024

The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) is proud to announce the eight recipients of the 2024 NBCUniversal Tony Coelho Media Scholarship. With generous support from NBCUniversal, the NBCUniversal Tony Coelho Media Scholarship was named for a former United States Representative and the primary author and sponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The scholarship is provided to undergraduate and graduate students with disabilities who are interested in increasing disability representation in their future careers in the communications, media, or entertainment industries.

“Accurate disability representation requires the inclusion of the authentic lived experiences of storytellers and media makers. Media has the power to foster cultural change, advance social movements, and shape people’s understanding. We’re grateful for our continued partnership with AAPD and proud to support the Tony Coelho Media Scholarship and these eight remarkable leaders who carry that mission in their work every day.”

— Craig Robinson, Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, NBCUniversal

“The personal and professional backgrounds of this year’s scholarship recipients demonstrate the true diversity of both the disability community and the communications, media, and entertainment industry. These scholars understand the vital role that their voices play in shaping society’s understanding of disability. Media work is culture change work.” said Maria Town, President and CEO of AAPD.

“I am grateful for these leaders’ commitment to creating media that increases understanding of disabled experiences. Our movement for disability rights and justice is strengthened when more people are exposed to many narratives of disability – stories that are nuanced, respectful, and true. AAPD is continually grateful to NBCUniversal for their ongoing partnership and support of these talented students who will enhance disability representation in their fields,” Town concluded.

Award recipients received $5,625 each to help cover the cost of education at their current college or university. Each recipient of the 2024 NBCUniversal Tony Coelho Media Scholarship was awarded for their demonstrated knowledge and passion in their field of media industries. The recipients also were selected based on not only their commitment and contribution to disability representation in the media but their future aspirations to meaningfully include and engage the disability community in their career. During the 2024-2025 school year, NBCUniversal and AAPD will collaborate to provide several opportunities to support the recipient’s growth in their academic pursuits and their career development.

Please join us in congratulating the recipients of the 2024 NBCUniversal Tony Coelho Media Scholarship! You can read the recipients’ full biographies and learn more about the NBCUniversal Tony Coelho Media Scholarship on our website.

Kayla Abramowitz (she/her) - University of Texas at Austin

Makayla Allen (she/her) - California State University Northridge

Amanda DeJesus (she/her) - New York University

Chelsea Glover (she/her) - Pace University, New York Campus

Qusay Hussein (he/him) - University of Texas at Austin

Emma O’Neill-Dietel (she/they) - University of Massachusetts Amherst

Gary Dylan Miller (he/him) - University of Tennessee Knoxville

Pearl Zhang (she/her) - Harvard University Graduate School of Education