BLACKSBURG, Va.— To thank PRISM for its phenomenal work, the outstanding students that run it, and amazing advisor Donna Wertalik, distinguished Virginia Tech alumni James “Jim” Hatch has pledged $25,000 in scholarships to be awarded to the most deserving PRISM members over the course of five years.
“I have had the opportunity to observe the amazing work of the student run PRISM marketing team. Everything produced by this wonderful group of students is professional grade material. The opportunity for students to be a part of PRISM represents the best experiential learning opportunity at Virginia Tech,” said Hatch.
The scholarship will be known as “Simply the Best,” or “STB” for short. Simply the Best, named after a Tina Turner song as Hatch noted, exemplifies those PRISMITE’s who go beyond the threshold of greatness and show outstanding leadership and dedication to the future of the Pamplin College of Business. This award recognizes members who are extraordinary in their efforts to increase awareness and support of the Global Business and Analytics Complex.
PRISM Chief Marketing Officer Julia Palumbo said, “We feel so thankful to Mr. Hatch for creating the Simply The Best Scholarship. It is such an honor to have this scholarship available to PRISM members.”
Simply the Best recognizes up to two undergraduate PRISM students per year, awarding both with a generous scholarship of $2,500. All undergraduate PRISM members with a GPA of 3.0 or higher are eligible for the scholarship and are encouraged to engage and spread awareness about this new award.
“Without Jim Hatch, who is making all of this possible, we would be lost. This truly reflects the experiential and applied impact of our programs in the college and department,” Donna Wertalik, Founder and Advisor of PRISM, said.
Hatch himself has pledged $25,000 towards this scholarship with a goal of raising a total of at least $100,000 to establish a permanent scholarship for the future of PRISM. Hatch looks forward to other alumni and friends to join him in recognizing and celebrating the great work of PRISM through this scholarship.
“All students who are part of the PRISM team are exceptional,” Hatch said, “but I think that it would be appropriate to, each year, recognize the best of the best.”
PRISM recognizes how powerful this innovative concept is and thanks Mr. Hatch for his generosity. This scholarship will further motivate PRISM members to apply their real-world digital knowledge and data insights to drive impact and support for the future of the Pamplin College of Business.