SCF Student Receives Prestigious Advertising Award

July 16, 2021 – Sarasota

Donovan Edwards, a student pursuing an associate in science in business administration at State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota (SCF), received the 2021 AdFed Suncoast Scholarship Award from AdFed Suncoast, the local chapter of the American Advertising Federation (AAF). The scholarship, sponsored by DreamLarge, a branding and public relations agency in Sarasota, includes a $1,000 award and an internship opportunity with the organization. 

The rigorous AdFed Suncoast scholarship application process required candidates to submit a marketing-focused reflective essay about a nonprofit organization in the Sarasota or Bradenton area. “There is nothing better than seeing a local charitable campaign succeed,” said Edwards. “One of my favorite examples of results is the local Community Foundation of Sarasota County’s ‘Season of Sharing’ campaign. This campaign is not new, yet the Foundation has managed to grow the results with creative focus and proper promotion, nearly doubling the amount raised in past years.” 

Edwards hopes to one day generate a similar level of help for people in need. He also expressed his gratitude to SCF’s Kim Richmond, director, 26 West Entrepreneurship Center, who he said made “all of this a possibility” for him. “I thought that an internship would be doing coffee runs and organizing paperwork, but it’s not like that at all,” said Edwards. “In the little time I’ve been at DreamLarge, we have done things I have never done before. On a Monday morning, we decided we were going to paint a mural for our community, and the very next night we went out and did it!” 

Edwards started at SCF in summer 2020 and plans to graduate in December 2022. He served as the founding vice president for the SCF Entrepreneurship Club in Spring 2021 and was elected president for the 2021-2022 academic year. He is a passionate entrepreneur and the founder and owner of HafBrand, an e-commerce lifestyle and apparel brand. 

For more information about scholarship opportunities at SCF, visit SCF-Foundation.org.