The National Cartoonists Society Foundation (NCSF) is happy to announce the winner of the 2013 Jay Kennedy Memorial Scholarship – Charlotte Mao.

Charlotte is an illustration major at Ringling College of Art & Design in Sarasota FL. She was chosen from over 65 applicants for the award, which includes a $5,000 scholarship and a trip to the National Cartoonists Society’s Reuben Award weekend in Pittsburgh in May. The scholarship applicants submitted eight examples of their work along with an entry form that included short essays on their current and future plans in cartooning. Entries were judged by a jury of professional cartoonists who are members of the National Cartoonists Society Foundation.

In addition to her studies, Charlotte is working on writing and illustrating her own children’s book. She has done freelance work for Harper Collins Children’s Books and will be interning at American Greetings this summer.

The Jay Kennedy Memorial Scholarship is an annual award established in memory of Jay Kennedy, the late King Features comics editor, from an initial from the Hearst Foundation/King Features Syndicate and additional generous donations from other prominent cartoonists. It is administered by the National Cartoonists Society Foundation. The scholarship is awarded to a college student in the United States, Canada or Mexico who will be in their Junior or Senior year of college during the following academic year, and is selected by a panel of professional cartoonists.

Congratulations to Charlotte! See you in Pittsburgh!