Students interested in studying journalism and communication at Wartburg College have two new scholarship opportunities, thanks to a well-known alumna and a national advisory board.

Kathryn Koob, a 1960 graduate, has established The Kathryn Koob Endowed Scholarship to reward female students for showing leadership and creative passion in the Department of Journalism & Communication. The annual scholarship will be awarded for the first time in the fall of 2015.

Koob was one of 52 American embassy employees held hostage in Tehran, Iran, by the student-led Revolutionary Guard for 444 days beginning on Nov. 4, 1979.

“I want to encourage women to develop their leadership and creative skills. Women are often reactive, and I want them to be proactive,” she said.

The Journalism & Communication National Advisory Board also created five annually funded scholarships to be awarded to student organization leaders. The Wartburg Journalism & Communication NAB Scholarships will provide $500 each to student leaders with Tower Agency, Wartburg Television, KWAR-89.9 FM, The Circuit and The Trumpet. The scholarships will be awarded this fall.

Jay Boeding, a NAB member, hopes the scholarship will allow the department to continue to attract strong leaders to these roles.

“Recruiting talented leadership is vital to continuing the strong legacies of these student media organizations. Sometimes students have to make difficult choices between off-campus work and on-campus career-enhancing opportunities,” Boeding said. “We know the value gained by leading these organizations because many advisory board members were student media leaders.”

“I am both thrilled and humbled at the generosity of our alums and friends of the department,” said Penni Pier, Grant L. Price Endowed Department Chair. “These scholarships serve as a testament to the exceptional educational experience students receive at Wartburg College and in our department.”