Senior Gabriella Corriere, a strategic communication major who is minoring in advertising, will receive the national Public Relations Student Society of America’s Gary Yoshimura Scholarship next semester.

The native of Flushing, N.Y., competed in a national pool of applicants and was the only winner of the $2,400 grant based on a 1,000-word essay on how she overcame adversity.

She also has won the $1,200 Arkansas Advertising Federation Scholarship.

“I have always been fascinated by the way people communicate,” she said. “Because English was not my first language, I had to pay attention to words. I learned how words can be powerful weapons and useful tools.”

Corriere began her academic career at the University of Florida while working as an Alltel customer relations representative. An offer of a promotion brought her to Little Rock, and when Alltel and Verizon merged, Corriere thought it was a good time to get back to school. She enrolled in UALR’s School of Mass Communication studying strategic communication and advertising while continuing to work at Verizon.

In addition to her school and work responsibilities, Corriere is president of the UALR PRSSA student chapter.