American Solutions for Business is pleased to announce that we have two recipients of the PPEF (Promotional Products Education Foundation) scholarships for 2022 are in the American family. Daughters of American sales associates, Livi Dalamu-Keller and Maully & Brent Daniels, Christine & Maysen went through the rigorous application process and came out victorious. We were able to have a discussion with them about their preparation for the application, their plans for the future, and the impact this scholarship will have on their education.
Where do you go to school?
Christine Keller: I attend school at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL.
Maysen Running: I graduated from Lakeridge High school in 2022, and I’ll be attending the University of Oregon this fall. I’ll be majoring in Architecture at UO’s College of Design and minoring in French.
What is your major/minor?
Christine: I’m a Business Administration major with a specialization in International Studies and a minor in Economics.
Maysen: I received my Oregon State Seal of Biliteracy last year in French and have enjoyed practicing since then. I’ve also kept busy in high school practicing taekwondo, as I earned my second-degree black belt in my sophomore year and have been a taekwondo instructor since middle school. I have kept up my good grades and graduated with a 4.29 GPA.
How did you prepare for the scholarship application?
Christine: It was very helpful to keep a list of my previous academic and extracurricular activities and accomplishments. On my resume, I made sure to quantify each of my achievements and use action words for each statement. I always make sure to have a plan on how to succinctly explain my future plans and goals.
Maysen: I brainstormed ways to connect to my family’s industry. I’ve helped work for them, filling promotional products orders, picking up and dropping of dozens of shipments, and little by little I’ve been able to learn about what makes their career special.
How will this scholarship impact the work you want to do and who you want to be in the future?
Christine: This scholarship continues to remind me of exactly the type of role the PPEF industry holds in so many peoples’ lives. It is truly a family-first organization that supports each other, has a lasting impact, and always seems to provide a positive environment. This scholarship makes me want to continue working in this industry and give back to this community, as it has done for me and my family for years. In the future I would like to continue working in the marketing field and it has influenced me to consider a future in sales. The scholarship will help me with my expenses as I look toward continuing my education post-graduation.
Maysen: For a long time, my family and I weren’t able to consider college as a possibility for me due to our financial situation, but it is because of generous gifts like that from PPEF that I am ready to continue on to my university of choice next year. I really appreciate it, and am thankful for my family and their industry’s hard work in helping me succeed.
Did your family’s history with the industry play a role in your decision to be part of the PPEF family?
Christine: With both my parents working in this industry since before I was born, this field is like second nature. For as long as I can remember I’ve been joining my parents as they prepared for conventions, searched for creative solutions for client events, visiting with clients, delivering products, distributing Christmas gifts, and even practicing their sales presentations. I feel like I’ve played a little role in the American family for many years now, whether helping them or working with them on school breaks, so there is no question that this had an impact in my involvement with this industry and in the business world. It’s also always been like having my own magician or magic trick. I’ve always been able to impress my friends by telling them my mom could guess what type of t-shirt they had, without having to look at the tag.
Maysen: My parents are some of the most passionate employees I’ve ever seen in the industry, constantly striving to make their client’s lives better. We figured that because of our family connection to the promotional products industry, I would be a great applicant for a PPEF.
An additional note from Christine:
Along with my mom, my dad, Tom Keller, was also very invested in the promotional products industry and with ASB before he passed away at the end of 2020. He always shared with my family stories of the fantastic people he met through his work, and I am immensely grateful for this community he has. ASB even made it possible to honor my dad with the rest of the ASB family at the memorial walk hosted in his honor at the conference this year. Not only did his fellow salespeople come out to walk, but they also raised a lot of money for our church youth group, which I was involved in but that my dad and older sister were also involved in. By letting my dad’s legacy live on, they have supported our family in more ways than I can even explain.
To learn more about American Solutions for Business, visit http://www.americanbus.com.
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