Casey Saccomanno wins Beene National Scholarship

16 Jan '08

4 min read

Casey Saccomanno, a senior fashion design major, was awarded one of the first $25,000 Geoffrey Beene National Scholarships Jan. 9 at the YMA Geoffrey Beene Fashion Scholarship Dinner in New York.

"This is a huge award, a huge honor," said Saccomanno, who was one of four student winners announced at the dinner. The other winners were from Rhode Island School of Design, Parsons The New School for Design and the University of Colorado, Boulder.

"This is truly a great accomplishment for Casey to be recognized at this major industry event and for the University to be recognized as a preeminent institution for educating the future leaders of the industry," said Clara Henry, director of the university's Fashion Design program.

In addition to the $25,000 award, Saccomanno and two other Philadelphia University fashion design students, Janelle Frank and Sandra Huffaker, won YMA scholarships of $5,000 each, which had been previously announced.

"We applaud Jennelle, Sandra and Casey for their professionalism and commitment," Henry said. "They all have a bright future in this industry and will make significant contributions."

This is the first year the YMA awarded $25,000 scholarships to the top students in the country. The scholarships were funded in part through a bequest from the estate of famed designer Geoffrey Beene.

The annual scholarship fund dinner is a top event attended by about 1,500 fashion industry officials. This year, honorees included designer Kenneth Cole and the event was emceed by Tim Gunn, a host of Bravo's Project Runway and chief creative officer for Liz Claiborne Inc.

Winning is nothing new for Saccomanno, who as a sophomore was awarded the $1,500 Carson Kressley Scholarship for an outstanding student at the May 2006 Philadelphia University Fashion Show.

At that show, she also received the Good Lad Award for children's wear and the following year, as a junior, she won the Ann Taylor Loft Award for design excellence.

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