Elon University junior Josh Chagani has been awarded the LIN Television Corporation Minority Scholarship and Training Program for 2009, a national award that will pay up to $20,000 annually in expenses for tuition, fees, books, room and board during his junior and senior years.
Chagani will be required to participate in LIN’s training program at an LIN station for two summers during 2009 and 2010, and based on his performance, he will be offered a minimum of two years employment at one of LIN’s television stations. Chagani will begin his training at WALA, LIN’s Fox affiliate in Mobile, Ala.
Chagani has experience in Web site design and animation as well as film production, including camera operations, sound editing and special effects. He has helped produce documentaries at the university – “A River’s Reach” and “D.E.E.P. Impact” – and he assisted with water conservation television commercials for a local TV station.
The communications and computing science double major is active in several organizations at Elon, including the Periclean Scholars Class of 2011 and Cinelon, the university’s student film society. He serves as an Elon Ambassador, performs on the varsity cheerleading team, works for Elon Student Television and volunteers with Loaves and Fishes and Habitat for Humanity, among other groups.
He also works as a housing assistant with Residence Life. Chagani is the son of Dew Symonds and Aziz Chagani, both of Stuart, Fla.
“Earning one of the industry’s most prominent scholarships is a tremendous honor and it will undoubtedly open up many doors for me,” Chagani said. “I am truly grateful.”
LIN owns 27 television stations 17 markets in Texas, New York, Virginia, Florida, Indiana, Ohio, Rhode Island, Alabama, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Michigan and New Mexico. The company reaches 9 percent of U.S. television homes and more than 11 million viewers each week.