Natural Stone Institute Bestows Scholarships
OBERLIN, Ohio— Three stone-industry professionals will be honored at The International Surface Event (TISE) next month as the latest recipients of Natural Stone Institute scholarship programs.
The industry group announced last week that Noe Cortez will receive the 2021 Natural Stone Scholarship, and Andrea (Andi) Carlson Claus and Kristen Cannon will be given 2021 Women in Stone Empowerment Scholarships.
Cortez is customer solutions manager for Quality Marble & Granite in Ontario, Calif. His award includes a trip to TISE, where the recipient will gain valuable technical and practical knowledge regarding the natural stone industry and will meet and network with leading stone professionals.
“I’m really looking forward to attending TISE and getting a more in-depth understanding of our industry and all it has to offer,” Noe said. “I’m humbled by the recognition and look forward to receiving the opportunity.”
Claus, senior account representative at Mont Surfaces in Grand Rapids, Mich., receives a trip to one of three major industry events: TISE, Coverings, or an institute study tour. Cannon, project coordinator for Continental Cut Stone in Florence, Texas, will attend the institute’s Bluestone Study Tour in September.
Recipients of the Women in Stone Empowerment scholarship are given the opportunity to shadow industry professionals within different sectors of the stone industry and explore their potential for leadership and commitment to a career in the stone industry.
“I am so excited for the opportunity to not only attend TISE,” Claus said, ” but for the connections that I will make, mentors I will meet, and education that I will gain because of the Women in Stone Empowerment Scholarship! I hope to leave Las Vegas as a more-inspired and well-rounded version of myself with new lifelong friendships.”
“I love that this scholarship will give me the opportunity to meet other people in the industry and grow my knowledge of the stone industry as a whole,” Cannon said. “I can’t wait to see what I can learn thanks to this scholarship, and I am so grateful that programs like this exist to help women in the industry grow and succeed.”
Industry members are invited to attend the Natural Stone Institute’s annual awards ceremony at TISE on Feb. 1 at 4 p.m. PST in South Seas F at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.
