In 2020, to counteract the lack of diversity in the brewing industry, Yuengling partnered with USF St. Pete to create a $5,000 diversity in brewing scholarship. This year marks the second scholarship for the biannual brewing arts, “non-academic, certificate” program.
According to Jennifer Sedillo, director of the brewing arts program at USF St. Pete, the 23 week module, which is followed by training in a brewery of choice, costs $5,000 per person
The partnership between Yuengling and USF is not new. Yuengling funds a veterans scholarship annually, Sedillo told The Gabber. She said Yuengling also pitched the addition of a diversity scholarship to the brewing program.
“I think it was just in response to everything that’s been highlighted in the news about how we really do kind of lack diversity in many industries and many fields, and that there seems to be systematic barriers that are kind of making that happen,” Sedillo said. “The idea of the scholarship is to reduce any barriers that might be there for a person who wants to be in the brewing industry, but isn’t currently in the industry.”
The scholarship is open to all ethnic, racial and sexual orientation minorities, and all skill levels of brewers, who want to pursue a career in the brewing industry. Sedillo hopes this opportunity can balance out the “one-dimensional” side of the brewing industry.
“Especially brewery owners are typically Caucasian males. The higher up you go, the more one-dimensional it becomes,” Sedillo said.
As the director of the program, Sedillo met with Yuengling’s team to set up and design the application and decide which factors make an applicant eligible. She is also part of the team that picks the recipient.
“I think Yuengling, and the brewing industry at large, recognizes that we could be so much of a better industry if we were more diverse. And the culture of craft beer is very inclusive, so we’re trying to find reasons as to why it doesn’t seem to be inclusive when it comes to brewing companies,” Sedillo said.
Applications are open until Jan. 9. Visit https://www.stpetersburg.usf.edu/academics/degrees-and-programs/brewing-arts/yuengling-diversity-brewing-scholarship.aspx to apply.
