IGDA Announces Student Scholarships to GDC 2009

The International Game Developers Association has announced the recipients of the GDC 2009 scholarships, which were awarded to 25 students. The scholars will receive passes to next month's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco (run by Think Services, as is this website), and be teamed up with a professional mentor at the show. The scholarship recipients are also invited inside a professional game development studio (as yet unannounced for this year) in the San Francisco Bay area and are given a tour of the work environment. The recipients this year span the globe from Canada to Turkey. GameCareerGuide and Gamasutra congratulate the following 25 students: - Ricardo A. Arango Slingsby, University of Aalborg Conpenhagen (Denmark) - Tobias Baumann, Zurich University of the Arts (Switzerland) - Isik Baris Fidaner, Bogazici University (Turkey) - Sarah Brown, Cornell University - Theresa Chen, Carnegie Mellon University Entertainment Technology Center - Kerry Wayne Enfinger, DeVry University - Zack Freedman, Stevens Institute of Technology - Rachel Larsen, Art Institute of California - Orange County - Christopher Jordan Lynn, University of Georgia - Doug Macdonald, DigiPen Institute of Technology - Brittnay Muckenmuller, University of South Alabama - Alexander Mulder, Utrecht School of the Arts (The Netherlands) - Gwendolyn Murray, Savannah College of Art & Design - Andrew Papadopoulos, University of Wollongong (Australia) - Michelle Parent, Great Northern Way Campus (Canada) - Lukasz Pasek, University of Derby (U.K.) - Aylwin Po Villanueva, University of California- Irvine - John Richardson, Emerson College - Dan Rosenthal, American University, Washington College of Law - Nicholas Rudzicz, McGill University (Canada) - Karen Schrier, Columbia University - Florian Schwarzer, University of Technology Ilmenau (Germany) - Joseph Serra, International Academy of Design & Technology, Troy - Daniel Starck, Blekinge Institute of Technology (Sweden) - Matthew M. White, Memorial University of Newfoundland (Canada) The scholarship recipients all had to write extensive application essays and were judged on five criteria, as cited on the IGDA website: 1. Relevance. Will attending GDC help the student achieve his or her specific educational and/or career goals? 2. Initiative. Has the student demonstrated continued dedication to game development and effort to educate themselves? 3. Special circumstances. Has the student overcome any unusual challenges or obstacles? 4. Communication. Are the ideas expressed in the essays communicated effectively and efficiently? 5. Tilt factor. Overall, does it seem like this student would be fun and interesting to have around at GDC?