ASIFA-Hollywood's Animation Educators Forum (AEF) is proud to announce its Student Scholarship recipients for the 2026-27 academic year.
The AEF scholarships are merit-based and designed to support college students in continuing their education in the field of animation. Each individual student's personal statement, written proposals, letters of recommendation from faculty and demo reel/still art/research abstracts were taken into consideration as part of the selection process. Applications were arranged in groups and evaluated during multiple rounds of judging. The competition for this year's awards was remarkable, and it was a difficult decision to select only a few recipients.
We thank each of the 113 students for submitting an application as well as the dedicated faculty members that wrote detailed recommendations for them. We also thank our team of ten judges that volunteered their time to give careful consideration to every completed application.
The 2026 AEF Scholarship recipients are:
Valentina Asenov - Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY
Bachelor's Degree - Film Project
Dylan Baddeley - School of Visual Arts, New York City, NY
Bachelor's Degree - Film Project
Diego Cumplido - California Institute of the Arts, Santa Clarita, CA
Master's Degree - Tuition
Karoline Floreanova - Sheridan College, Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Bachelor's Degree - Tuition
Julia Han - Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY
Bachelor's Degree - Books & Supplies
Jackie Manke - California Institute of the Arts, Santa Clarita, CA
Bachelor's Degree - Tuition
Myriam Obin - Universite Laval, (Laval University), Quebec, Canada
Master's Degree - Animation Research/Travel
Sofia Palacios - California Institute of the Arts, Santa Clarita, CA
Bachelor's Degree - Animation Equipment
Reni Park - California Institute of the Arts, Santa Clarita, CA
Bachelor's Degree - Tuition
Ariel Rutherford - Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Bachelor's Degree - Tuition
Fiorella Tolentino - School of Visual Arts, New York City, NY
Bachelor's Degree - Tuition
Jazmin Zeitune - School of Visual Arts New York City, NY
Bachelor's Degree - Film Project
The AEF is proud to support these 12 animation students on their journey towards membership in the global animation community. Now more than ever, animation in its many forms provides a way to communicate across cultures and across borders.
For more information about the AEF Student Scholarship, please visit https://animationeducatorsforum.org/scholarships