Inside the 2024 AIAS Foundation Scholar Experience
Mentorship, Workshops, and the D.I.C.E. Summit
As we open applications for the next round of AIAS Foundation Scholarship, we’re reflecting on the incredible journey of this past year’s scholars. The 2024 cohort has gained invaluable insights, forged meaningful connections, and engaged in transformative experiences designed to help shape their futures in the gaming industry.
A Tailored Mentorship Experience
The scholars' journey began with a personalized mentorship program. Each scholar was carefully matched with an industry professional based on their career goals, interests, and aspirations. To ensure the best fit, scholars completed detailed intake forms outlining what they hoped to gain from their mentorship. From there, the AIAS Foundation team meticulously paired each scholar with an expert mentor, leveraging both our extensive database and additional industry research. Once introduced, mentor-mentee pairs kicked off their virtual sessions, setting goals, exchanging insights, and laying the groundwork for an ongoing professional relationship—culminating in an in-person meeting at the D.I.C.E. Summit.
Building Skills Through Virtual Workshops
In preparation for the D.I.C.E. experience, scholars participated in a series of virtual workshops designed to equip them with essential industry knowledge and professional skills. These sessions covered a range of topics, including an introduction with scholar coordinators and the cohort, best practices for resumes and job applications, fundamental networking strategies, and an insightful panel featuring alums of the program as well as virtual social meetings and access to the AIAS Foundation Scholar Discord to help familiarize scholars with one another and alums.
Networking and Collaborating at the D.I.C.E. Summit
The highlight of the experience was the scholars' all-expenses-paid trip to the prestigious 2025 D.I.C.E. Summit, an annual executive leadership conference. Before the event officially kicked off, scholars participated in exclusive in-person workshops led by industry veterans. Sessions included Game Production Foundations: The Lifecycle of a Game, Soft Skills: Tips and Tricks for Leveling Up, and Dealing with Burnout in the Games Industry. Scholars also had the opportunity to connect with their mentors in person, reinforcing the relationships built throughout their mentorship journey.
Once the #DICE2025 Summit began, scholars fully immersed themselves in networking opportunities, roundtable discussions, and special Q&A sessions with industry leaders over breakfast and lunch. Roundtables, workshops, and speed networking sessions further enriched their experience, providing direct access to influential professionals. Scholars also had the chance to capture professional headshots with a dedicated photographer via Laura Kinser Studios.
A Night to Remember: The 28th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards
One of the most unforgettable moments was attending the prestigious 28th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, where the industry comes together to celebrate excellence in game development. This year, three of our scholars— Aunesty Cano, Valencia Coleman, Abby Sherlock —had the honor of stepping onto the stage to assist with presenting trophies to winners.
As we look ahead to welcoming a new cohort of scholars, we’re proud of the incredible journey our 2024 recipients embarked upon. Their experiences at D.I.C.E., the mentorship program, and the workshops have helped shape their career paths and forge lifelong industry connections. We can’t wait to see what the future holds for them and for the next class of AIAS Foundation scholars.
The 2024 Scholars who attended this year's D.I.C.E. Summit included:
- Aunesty Cano, University of the Incarnate Word
- Valencia Coleman, Savannah College of Art and Design
- Santiago Forero, Gnomon School of Visual Effects
- Megan Friedenberg, Senior Software Developer, Walt Disney Imagineering
- Rachel Perry, University of Southern California
- Abby Sherlock, Game Producer, Riot Games
- Rain Yan, University of Pennsylvania
A special thank you goes out to all of our coordinators, speakers, and mentors for taking time out of their busy schedule to enrich our scholar experience including:
- Noor Amin, Riot Games (Speaker)
- Mark Cerny, Cerny Games (Mentor)
- Fiona Cherbak, Xbox Game Studios (Speaker)
- Mariel Kinuko Cartwright, Future Club (Speaker)
- Kelli Dunlap, TakeThis (Speaker)
- Ricardo Graham, ZeniMax Online Studios (Mentor/Speaker)
- Rui Hwang, Liminal Experiences, Inc. (Scholar Coordinator)
- Katelyn Johnson, Turtle Rock Studios (Mentor)
- Dani LaLonders, Producer/Narrative Designer (Speaker)
- Anran Li, Riot Games (Mentor)
- Leanne Loombe, Annapurna (Speaker)
- David Luong, Couch Heroes (Mentor)
- Courtney Manbeck, Whitehorn Games (Speaker)
- Skyler Matthews, Zebra PR (Speaker)
- Eric Monacelli, Marvel Entertainment (Mentor)
- Kaleb Nekumanesh, SuperGenius Studios (Mentor)
- Connie Owens, Zebra PR (Speaker)
- Dotun Oseni-Adegbite, Xbox (Virtual Scholar Coordinator)
- Sunni Pavlovic, Windflower Games (Speaker)
- Johner Riehl, Zebra PR (Speaker)
- Jennifer Schneidereit, Nyamyam (Mentor)
- Michael Wahba, Maxis Studios (Speaker)
- Kiki Wolfkill, Xbox (Speaker)
- Jenny Xu, Talofa Games (Scholar Coordinator)
Click here for more information on the AIAS Foundation, WomenIn, and Girls for Gaming scholarships.
Click here to learn more on how you can help be a mentor.
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