Ofield Dukes Scholarship & Multicultural Student Award Recipient, 2020

Zachary Gradishar, Vice President of Diversity, Inclusion, & Service

I am so thankful to the PRSA Foundation for making me this year’s recipient of the Ofield Dukes Scholarship & Multicultural Student Award. Being black in America means that you have to learn how to navigate through life differently than others and with that comes certain life experiences. It sucks that this is the case, but my mom has always taught me that I have to work twice as hard to get half as much as my white peers. I have always applied this mindset to everything that I do in life especially when it comes to being an advocate for diversity and inclusion issues as I know firsthand how important they are. That is why I take my position as “Vice President of Diversity, Inclusion & Service” in PRSSA so seriously.

I am really appreciative of this scholarship as I feel like all the important work I do with diversity and inclusion is being recognized. In a way getting this recognition makes me feel like I am making a difference and changing the current landscape in terms of representation. I hope to continue this in the future as I get into my career. I am very passionate about diversity and inclusion issues and I know that will never change no matter what I go through in life. I will always be fighting for equal representation in everything that I do.