Ashley Larsen, a student at the CU-Boulder Leeds School of Business, was awarded a $3,000 scholarship by the Travel Industry Association of America.
Larsen was one of six undergraduates nationwide to receive the Travel Industry Association Foundation scholarship. Larsen is a senior who will graduate from CU-Boulder this month.
To qualify for the scholarship, a student must be nominated by a department head in the field of travel and tourism. Charles Goeldner, emeritus professor of tourism and marketing, nominated Larsen and she received further support from Professor Rick Perdue. Winners were selected by a committee based on factors including essays, grade-point averages and letters of recommendation.
Larsen's experiences in the Colorado tourism industry helped her qualify for this award. She has worked as a tour guide for Celestial Seasonings and as an event-coordination intern at The Arrangers, a Denver based event-planning company.
In addition, Larsen has been a character performer and parade dancer at Disney World, where she earned the highest degree of recognition from Disney University. She also served as chair of activities, vice president of public relations and as a member of the recruitment executive board for the Alpha Omicron Pi sorority.
Larsen is the third CU-Boulder business student to win the award. Nicole Cavarra and Alisha Madeira won the scholarship in 1999 and 2001, respectively.