By Hannah Doerr

Last month, on Sunday, September 21, USC Kaufman Dean Julia M. Ritter welcomed donors and BFA students for the annual celebratory Donor Scholarship Brunch at Moreton Fig on USC Campus. 

Each year, this event brings together donors who have generously endowed scholarships with the BFA students that receive those scholarships. These donors, members of our prestigious Founders’ Circle, get the chance to learn about the students’ achievements and see their impact at work. The students have the opportunity to meet the donors that support them, experiencing another facet of the Kaufman family.  

Three new donor endowed scholarships 

This year’s brunch was Kaufman’s biggest yet. At the first annual Donor Scholarship Brunch in 2019, there were 15 BFA students. Since then, we have more than doubled the number of students receiving financial support from our generous donors to 36 scholarship recipients. We have also increased our prestigious Founders’ Circle to an incredible 19 members.  

As we remain committed to increasing access to dance education, this number is continuing to grow. This year, we are proud to announce three new endowed scholarship funds, which will support three more BFA students by 2030. We are incredibly grateful to Charlene Achki Repko, Renae and Greg Niles, and Ann and Jim Gianopulos, who now join our Founders’ Circle. 

“We are so proud of how this program has grown over the past 10 years,” Dean Ritter said. “Donor funded scholarships are essential to the maintaining the excellence of our school, and we are honored to welcome so many new scholars and Founders’ Circle members.” 

Glorya’s everlasting scholarship  

Before she passed away in August, Glorya Kaufman, USC Kaufman’s Founder and Lead Benefactor, bestowed a final gift to USC Kaufman students. Her incredibly generous addition to her endowed scholarship fund ensures a continued commitment to increasing accessibility to dance. Over the next few years, the number of Glorya Kaufman Endowed Scholars will increase to over 35 students. This means that by 2028, 40% of BFA students will receive a Kaufman endowed scholarship. 

Impact of scholarships at Kaufman 

Donor-endowed scholarships play a critical role in ensuring that students have access to the exceptional, conservatory-level dance education that Kaufman provides within the world-class environment of USC. For our donors, endowing a scholarship is a meaningful way to be part of the Kaufman Family and connect with our BFA students. 

“It was a dream of mine to become a ballet dancer, but my parents had a different ambition, and I pivoted and went to Brown University on a scholarship. Now, giving back is in my DNA,” said Board of Councilors and Founders’ Circle member Celeste Alleyne-Carr.  

Alleyne-Carr has generously created the Celeste Alleyne-Carr Endowed Scholarship at Kaufman, and Kayla Uwagbai (BFA ‘29) was named its first recipient this year. Hailing from Columbia, South Carolina, Uwagbai studied dance at the Columbia City Jazz Conservatory. 

“Being part of Kaufman means being a part of a nurturing school where I can train and ultimately reach my goals. To me, Kaufman is a community where various artists can grow, collaborate, and interact,” said Uwagbai. “I’m extremely grateful to have received a monetary tool that will enable me to pursue my artistic career.”  

Alleyne-Carr and Uwagbai met for the first time at the Donor Scholarship Brunch. “It was so sweet to meet the dazzling Kayla Uwagbai,” Alleyne-Carr said. “I feel my dream will now be fulfilled through Kayla’s brilliance. I look forward to mentoring and sponsoring her over the next four years.” 

This year’s new scholarship recipients 

This year, we are proud to give scholarships to 21 BFA students from the Class of 2029. We congratulate seven new Endowed Scholarship recipients, listed below. 

Endowed Scholarship Recipients (BFA ‘29) 

• Celeste Alleyne-Carr | Kayla Uwagbai 
• Bisthon Family Foundation | Cameron Kennedy 
• Nigel Lythgoe | Andres Jimenez 
• Joan Herman and Richard Rasiej | Adin Joseph 
• Sue Tsao | Noah Prim 
• Gale and Jim Luce | Keira Redpath 
• Robin Rae Robinson | Jadon Noah Vo 

Thanks to Glorya’s latest incredible scholarship gift, we also named 14 new Glorya Kaufman Scholars in her honor, listed below. 

Glroya Kaufman Scholars (BFA ‘29) 

• Canaan Blansit 
• Kameron Couch 
• Nolen Dubuc 
• Georgia Ehrlich 
• Lucas Go 
• Trey Gordon 
• Chloe Hennessy 
• Maliah Howard 
• Sophia Luu 
• Addison Middleton 
• Taylor Patricio 
• Kristina Poon 
• Sky Russell 
• Diliany Solano 

For more information on how to become a member of the Founder’s Circle or support student scholarships, please visit kaufman.usc.edu/support/founders-circle.