Nineteen students of graphic communications will get closer to their academic and professional goals with the help of the Graphic Communications Scholarship Foundation (GCSF), which honored them as the recipients of its 2026 scholarship awards.
The students, all of whom hail from the New York / New Jersey metropolitan area, are enrolled in or are about to enter academic study programs in all phases of graphic communications. They are latest in a long line of students that GCSF has assisted with cash grants, mentorships, and other kinds of support for nearly 25 years.
During that time, the all-volunteer group has raised and contributed more than $1.5 million for the cause of education and career development in the graphics industry. (A list of this year’s recipients and donors appears at the end of the article.)
The ceremony, held in Midtown Manhattan on June 22, also featured the presentation of GCSF’s Champion of Education Award to Charlie Whitaker, CEO of Taylor Corporation, a leading commercial printing company.
In his opening remarks, GCSF President John Aaron channeled some of the city’s basketball euphoria over the 2026 NBA championship win by the New York Knicks just days earlier.
‘The Starting Lineup’
“Today we celebrate a championship team of our own,” Aaron declared. “Our scholarship recipients are the starting lineup. Like the New York Knicks, they have earned their place in the finals. They are preparing to compete at the next level in graphic communications, printing, packaging, digital media, design, and related industries.”
Aaron compared the students’ parents to “coaches,” GCSF’s donors to “team owners and sponsors” who fund the “draft picks,” and the board members of GCSF to “the front office” that coordinates the effort.
“Today’s stipend award is not the championship trophy,” Aaron observed. “It is the opening tip-off. Their college education is the season ahead, and their careers will be the championship run.”
“The future of the industry is sitting right here in this room,” he concluded.
Diane Romano, the group’s Vice President and chief fundraiser, introduced Whitaker as the recipient of GCSF’s 2026 Champion of Education award. This accolade honors exceptional individuals in the graphic communications and media field who have contributed their time, resources, and talents to the greater good of the printing industry and the next generation of its workforce.
As CEO of Taylor Corporation, Whitaker leads the fifth-largest business on the 2025 Printing Impressions 300 list of North America’s largest printing companies. He joined Taylor in 2012 as Executive Vice President, bringing 30 years of experience in the paper and printing industry.
Prior to Taylor he served as President of Los Angeles based Spicers Paper, a paper and packaging distribution company serving printers and end users across the western half of the United States.
‘How Can I Give Back?’
During his years with Taylor, Whitaker has played a key role in leading several of its companies during some of the organization’s major acquisitions. In 2020, he took over as CEO and is committed to guiding the company into the future and working together as one team across its family of businesses to achieve success and growth.
“Taking care of each other – that’s why we’re here tonight,” Whitaker told the students. He said that the lessons people learn in their personal lives and professional careers should prompt them to answer one question: “How can I give back?”
“GCSF is that how,” Whitaker said, not just because of the money it distributes, but also for the sense of community it creates and the encouragement it gives to those who need it. He said that the same values prevail at Taylor Corporation, where the goal always has been to provide opportunity and security for all of its employees.
Whitaker urged the students to think along these lines as they advance in their own careers. “You are the product of your own experiences,” he counseled them. While some experiences won’t necessarily be positive, they all should be embraced as milestones in the pursuit of success.
When success is achieved, “then ask yourself, ‘How can I give back?’ That’s what taking care of each other truly means,” Whitaker concluded.
Advice from an Alum
Personifying all the good that GCSF has done for its students over the years was Natalie Alcide, a member of its Board of Directors and a past recipient of its scholarship grants. A grant, she said, “was way more than a check – it was an open door.” With GCSF’s help, she went through the door on her way to the position she holds today as a senior art director at a top New York advertising agency.
Alcide acknowledged that the job market confronting this year’s recipients is extremely tough, but she urged them not to lose heart. “Let your ambition be bigger than that little voice of self-doubt,” she said.
How to Help
Besides raising money for scholarships, GCSF provides technical training, mentoring, and work/study opportunities for students pursuing careers in the industry. Working as unpaid volunteers without professional staff or dedicated office space, the members of GCSF’s Board of Directors channel all of the money they raise to students as scholarships and to qualifying organizations as cash grants. To donate, and for further information, visit https://gcsfny.org/donate/.
2026 Student Scholarship Awardees and Donors
Stephanie-Rose Caragiulo (Advertising Production Club of New York Judy Salmon Scholarship Award)
Nour Mohsen (Taylor Corporation Award) Erika Maza (Canon Scholarship Award)
Phoebe Pugkhem George (Tecnau Scholarship Award)
Ramases Gomez-Diaz (Supernova Productions Award)
Lauren Mason (The Graphic Communications Scholarship Award)
Isabella Liao (The Graphic Communications Scholarship Award)
Massiel Lorena Guevara (The Graphic Communications Scholarship Award)
Naome I. Torres (The Graphic Communications Scholarship Award)
Farhad Zoghi (The Graphic Communications Scholarship Award)
Damián Carrasquillo (The Graphic Communications Scholarship Award)
Yeimilee V. Marcano S. (The Graphic Communications Scholarship Award)
Sian Alexis Thigpen (The Graphic Communications Scholarship Award)
Sable Spellman (The Graphic Communications Scholarship Award)
Harshala Sawant (The Graphic Communications Scholarship Award)
Aiden Hamilton (The Graphic Communications Scholarship Award)
Esther Jungreis (The Graphic Communications Scholarship Award)
Lin Zhou (The Graphic Communications Scholarship Award)
Melissa Guadalupe Marana (The Graphic Communications Scholarship Award)
