May 15, 2003
Larry King Awards Scholarships to SMPA Students
By Greg
Licamele
All he’s ever wanted to do since he was a 5-year-old was to be
a broadcaster. CNN’s Larry King realized that dream and now he’s
giving back to students in GW’s School of Media and Public Affairs
(SMPA).
On April 16 in the Media and Public Affairs Building, the talkmeister
helped honor the Larry King Scholars: graduate students Jeffery Huett,
Tesia Love, Tonya Thrasher, and Gregory Thornton; and the scholarship’s
first undergraduates Jonathan Reiling and Daniel Riesser.
“I felt it was essential, once I had any modicum of success, to
give back,” King said. “I got a lucky break, being born when
I was born, in a time when you didn’t need a degree to make it,
having the aptitude that I did,” added King, who did not attend
college.
Thrasher, who was the first Larry King Scholar in 2000 and again in
2001, said King’s generous gift gave her a sense of accomplishment
before she ever entered a classroom pursuing her master’s degree.
“I tried to bring a little of my own personal experience as a Native
American into my classes,” said Thrasher, now working as communications
coordinator for the Smithsonian Institution’s American Indian Museum.
Thrasher brought a little bit of her heritage to the event when she
concluded her remarks by thanking King in Cherokee — “Wa do.”
King’s passion for broadcasting was evident as he described his
first radio job 50 years ago in Miami. He now hopes a new breed of communicators
will be assisted in their educational and career pursuits through these
scholarships.
“If I have one gift to give you it’s that (journalism/communications)
beats work — nobody in this business works,” King said. “They
love what they do. If you’re debating whether to be a broadcaster
or a dentist — be a dentist because everybody in this business
is in it because they love it. As you go higher, the rewards are greater,
but there is no difference in the love.”
In 1999, King committed $1 million to grant scholarships to assist graduate
and undergraduate SMPA students from disadvantaged backgrounds. King’s
gift is part of GW’s ongoing Centuries Campaign, a University-wide
program to secure resources for support of endowment, current programs,
equipment, and facilities.
“It’s a wonderful occasion when we can recognize generosity
and also congratulate student achievement at the same time,” said
Donald R. Lehman, executive vice president for academic affairs. “We
think of Larry King as a great friend of The George Washington University.”
Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu
