Sodexho USA to Award $5,000 Grant at USPAACC’s CelebrAsian 2005
 

Washington, DC—The US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce (USPAACC) announced today that Sodexho USA will continue the Sodexho USA Pan Asian Network Group Scholarship launched last year, which provides an Asian American student with an educational opportunity in the culinary and hospitality fields. The annual scholarship grant of $5,000 plus an 8-week paid internship position for the Summer of 2006, will be provided through Sodexho USA’s Pan Asian Network Group (PANG).

“We appreciate Sodexho USA for once again helping some of our most promising Asian American students to finish their college degree and work toward an exciting career in the culinary and hospitality fields,” USPAACC National President & CEO Susan Au Allen said. “This scholarship not only promises a bright future for our young people, but also ensures the continued success of diversity and inclusion in our nation’s future workforce,” Allen added.

According to Rohini Anand, senior vice president and Chief Diversity Officer for Sodexho USA, “At Sodexho we believe diversity is a business imperative and ethical responsibility grounded in our values of Team Spirit, Service Spirit and Spirit of Progress. In our continuing efforts to attain a diversity mature organization, we understand the critical requirement to seek, leverage and respect the diversity of our workforce, our clients and the communities in which we live, work and serve. 

Adding to this, Vijay Sharma, vice president of Information Systems and Technology in Sodexho USA’s Campus and School Services divisions and Chairperson of the Sodexho Pan Asian Network Group said, “Key to our company’s diversity strategy is to have a corporate culture that embraces and respects the diversity of its workforce and employee network groups play a significant role. Under the auspices of PANG, Sodexho’s Pan Asian Network group, we are reaching out to the Asian Pacific community, in partnership with USPAACC, to provide students with the necessary educational opportunities to achieve professional and financial success—and to hopefully inspire them to consider becoming part of the Sodexho USA team.”

To be eligible for consideration, a student must be of Asian heritage (see application for detailed definition), a United States citizen or permanent resident, at least 17 years of age at the time of application and be enrolled for full-time study at an accredited post-secondary 4-year academic institution in the U.S. as a sophomore or junior in Fall 2005 pursuing undergraduate degree in Business Management, preferably in Food Service Management, Hotel Restaurant Institution Management, Facilities Management or similar programs leading to a Bachelor’s degree. The applicant must also demonstrate academic excellence (3.0 GPA or higher), leadership in extracurricular activities and community service involvement.

The award recipient will be announced on May 5 as part of a special luncheon during CelebrAsian 2005, to be held on May 4-6 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC. CelebrAsian is the largest annual national Asian American business conference in the United States and the only national business conference designed for the Asian American community.

For two decades, USPAACC’s highly-competitive scholarship program has provided students — chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential — with the opportunity to continue to pursue their academic dream. Under last year’s program alone, over 300 applications have been received for 18 scholarships that were awarded. Corporate and private sponsors, through USPAACC, have awarded more than $100,000-worth of scholarship funds to deserving but financially needy students.

For more information or to apply for the scholarship program, contact USPAACC at 1 (800) 696.7818 or (202) 296.5221