Direct TV Scholarships

Television has come a long way since its inception.

DirecTV is a major player in the satellite-driven home entertainment industry. DirecTV serves 18.4 million customers in the U.S. and 6.1 million customers in Latin America, constituting a $23 billion industry, as of 2011. DirecTV's customers in the U.S. have the capacity to enjoy more than 200 high-definition channels in Dolby 5.1 theater-quality sound. DirecTV participates in educational scholarships for students majoring in communications, English, journalism, business and graphic design, for example.

Access English Micro-Scholarship Program

DirecTV participates in scholarship programs in Latin America in 2011.

The Access English Micro-Scholarship Program sponsored by the U.S. Embassy provides funding for underprivileged students to study American English and culture for two years at one of the 14 Bi-National Centers throughout Argentina. On April 27, 2011, Argentina's ambassador, Vilma Martinez, signed an agreement with the General Manager of DirecTV Argentina, Manuel Abelleyra, to provide educational programming packages in English to Access Scholarship students. The project sponsored by the U.S. Embassy and DirecTV is called "Direct Access."

Federal Communications Bar Association DirecTV Scholarship

The Federal Communications Bar Association celebrated its 17th anniversary in 2008 by awarding 12 scholarships to graduating seniors from five District of Columbia schools. Katherine Feliz received the DirecTV Scholarship from the FCBA in the amount of $8,000. Feliz will use the scholarship to attend Pennsylvania State University where she plans to study to become a doctor in order to serve under-represented communities, like the one she grew up in. The DirecTV scholarship will be funded over a four-year period, from 2008 through 2012. Feliz also received a new laptop as part of her DirecTV scholarship.

DirecTV Employee Scholarships

On the reality TV show, "Undercover Boss," which aired in October 2010, the president and CEO of DirecTV, Mike White, said that he would start a $10,000 DirecTV employee scholarship program and made a DirecTV customer service representative named Chloe the first recipient. White's statement came in response to his participation in the "Undercover Boss" reality TV show where he disguised himself, masquerading as an out-of-work salesman, to investigate the day-to-day reality of the employees in his company. The DirecTV employee scholarship program promised by White on "Undercover Boss" has yet to be made available to the public, at the time of publication.

DirecTV Internships

DirecTV at Directv.com offers 12-week summer internships to students enrolled in an academic program in an accredited college or university. Applicants must maintain a minimum of a 3.0 GPA and have at least one term of school when the internship ends. Internships provide classroom training, professional expertise and a competitive student wage. DirecTV is looking for interns who are majoring in business, economics, communications, English, journalism, finance, graphic design and law, for example.

References

• Bancroft-Rosalie Public Schools: Great Plains DIRECTV Scholarship
• DirecTV.com: Internships
• DirecTV.com: Careers
• Federal Communications Bar Association: FCBA Foundation Awards 12 College Scholarships
• Embassy of the United States, Bueonos Aires Argentina: Cooperative Agreement With Directv
• "Faith Activators"; Undercover Boss; Mike O'Quin; June 2011

Resources

• GiftGivingPrograms.com: DirecTV Gift Matching Program Quidelines
• "International Business Times"; DirecTV's Micheal White: The Best 'Undercover Boss' Yet: 2010
• AOL: 'Undercover Boss': Rookie Mike White of DIRECTV; Lisa Johnson Mandell; 2010