The American Advertising Federation (AAF) has announced the 2023 class of Most Promising Multicultural Students. Approaching its 26th year, the Most Promising program is one of the premier initiatives promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion within the advertising industry.
“The 2023 Most Promising inductees continue to raise the bar. They are eager to enter our industry with a boldness and eagerness to affect change.” said Ayanna Jackson, EVP, Mosaic Center at AAF, adding, “We must develop spaces and opportunities that will allow them to create an industry that’s never been.”
Each year, students of racial or ethnic diversity from the AAF’s 140+ college chapters apply to the program. This year’s judging panel included representatives from Ally Financial, Nissan Motor Corporation, Captura Group, Cummings Creative Group, Hearts & Science, Lake-Sumter State College, Promedica, Publicis Health, RPA, and The Trade Desk. Leading agencies and companies, including 72andSunny, BBDO, Dentsu, Meta, FCB, IPG, McCann, Omnicom Group, UM Worldwide, The Trade Desk, Wieden+Kennedy and others, have been long-standing Most Promising supporters and consider the program a valuable resource in recruiting diverse, entry-level talent.
Students will participate in a four-day industry immersion program in New York that will include professional development and personal branding workshops, the Building Bridges for Our Future Awards Ceremony and Luncheon, and Recruiter’s Expo. The Most Promising program gives advertising, media, communications, and tech companies the opportunity to tap into high-achieving talent of 50 diverse college students.
This year’s class has an average GPA of 3.7 and represents 28 schools and 18 states across the country, including California, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, Oregon, New York and Texas.
See below for a list of the 2023 Most Promising Multicultural Students Class:
Lesly Abarca-Valladares | South Dakota State University | Steven Howard Jr | Ithaca College |
Brianna Aguilar | Brigham Young University | Trinity Hunter | The University of Alabama |
Deandre Allen | St. Bonaventure University | Fatuma Jama | University of Minnesota |
Isaiah Braithwaite | Roger Williams University | Rohini Khamamkar | Arizona State University |
Ariana Britto | University of Florida | Sharanya Kumar | San Jose State University |
Juan Camargo Quintero | University of Illinois | Carmen Larios | University of Illinois |
Pricila Carmona | Olivet Nazarene University | Star Lawson | The Pennsylvania State University |
Destiny Carter-Wleh | University of Minnesota | Linda Le | University of Houston |
Isabella Castro | Lindenwood University | Kassandra Leyva | University of Illinois |
Emma Chan | Pennsylvania State University | Marvin Lim | University of Oregon |
Victoria Chan | Texas A&M University | Bri Lucero | Brigham Young University |
Chenai Christian | The Pennsylvania State University | Beamlak Lulseged | University of Minnesota |
Jacqueline Cimino | University of San Francisco | Carlos Luna | University of Texas Rio Grande Valley |
Li de Jong | Ithaca College | Christopher Mercado | Brigham Young University |
Jessi Delfino | The University of Texas | Sushree Samikhya Mohanty | University of Memphis |
Amari Edwards | University of South Carolina | Evanna Momtaj | University of Missouri |
Megan Fabriquer | University of San Francisco | Blake Morrow | University of Illinois |
Erica Fierro | Texas State University | Hanya Noussier | Florida State University |
Amari Foster | University of Missouri | Sara Omar | University of Minnesota |
Julie Garcia | University of Illinois | Jenna Ramon | Texas State University |
Elizabeth Gordon | University of Minnesota | Brianna Roach | Arizona State University |
Asia Griffin | University of Illinois | Marvin Sosa | University of Illinois |
Rafael Guedes Bonacin | Kent State University | John Starkweather | Brigham Young University |
June Hernandez | The University of Texas | Jyonosuke Tanaka | Newhouse School of Public Communications |
Carmelli Hess | University of Oregon | Luckett Vanguard | University of Minnesota |
Said Steve Pacheco, President and CEO of the AAF, “Now, more than ever, the need to connect young talent to the advertising industry is a top priority for everyone. The fact that the AAF can develop such a diverse group representing the best from across North America is consistent with our mission to develop the next generation of advertising leaders.”
For further information, including how to get involved in the Most Promising Students program, visit https://aaf.org