Irish Student Wins Prestigious New York Scholarship

Seventeen-year-old Irish student, Claire Newell from Hazelwood College, Belfast was awarded a prestigious scholarship to attend a three week intensive arts program in New York City at the School of Visual Arts, Inc (SVA) in New York by the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE Ireland).

NFTE teaches entrepreneurship to empower young people, developing their business, academic and life skills.

The NFTE program has been proven to build students confidence and interpersonal skills, encourage school completion and develop business knowledge since 1987 across diverse cultures and to date NFTE has reached over 200,000 young people across the globe.

SVA, founded in 1947 is widely recognized as one of the most prestigious art schools in the United States with its innovative and experimental program philosophies, the accessibility it offers to its unparalleled faculty of professional artists and with over 3,700 students from around the world.

President of the SVA David Rhodes said, "It was a pleasure to have Claire with us for the summer. She works with passion and diligence. We are looking forward to another Hazelwood student next year".

Claire, who attends Hazelwood College in Belfast Ireland, was chosen for the scholarship from a short list of NFTE students.

Claire secured the scholarship due to her entrepreneurial attitude and her creativity demonstrated in her art portfolio.

In 2007 Hazelwood College were awarded Specialist School Status in Digital Arts.

Specialist status places the College at the cutting edge of technology and innovation in education.

Hazelwood have successfully run the NFTE program for the last two years, taught by Trevor Kelly a NFTE Certified Entrepreneurial Teacher.

SVA's Pre-College programs are designed for secondary school students who wish to enhance their creative skills, learn more about a particular field of art, and/or develop a portfolio.

Approximately 400 American and international students participate in the summer program, which is taught by a faculty of leading art professionals.

The summer program also offers a comprehensive schedule of supervised activities in the evenings and on weekends, to take full advantage of the culture of New York City.

Each student will receive three college credits for the successful completion of the summer program.

Janet Knox CEO NFTE Ireland said: "We are honoured to have one of our students represent Ireland in this advanced art education program at SVA.

"One of NFTE's key goals is to promote the educational and career development of our students.

"This partnership with a leading US arts University, offers our students a tremendous learning opportunity that will help them develop skills and open up new pathways for a brighter future."

Claire will participate in the NFTE program in Ireland, which begins in September.

This course provides students with a small capital grant fund administered by NFTE Ireland to allow students to set up their own businesses and experience business development firsthand.