Las Vegas—The Gemological Institute of America and the American Gem Society have introduced the winner of the third annual Beatrice Shipley Scholarship.

The scholarship covers full tuition for GIA’s Graduate Gemologist program, both on-campus in Carlsbad, California or via a hybrid of distance training and on-campus studying. 

The scholarship additionally covers the prices of the AGS Approach Course. 

AGS and AGS Laboratories CEO Katherine Bodoh mentioned, “AGS is grateful to GIA for his or her ongoing dedication to AGS and for partnering on this scholarship. Beatrice Shipley and her husband, Robert, modified the course of the jewellery trade, and we’re honored to be a part of their legacy.”

Hurdle is a fourth-generation jeweler. Her great-grandfather began Hurdle’s Jewellery in 1947 in Boulder, Colorado, in a storefront simply down the road from its present location. 

Born and raised within the city that lies within the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Hurdle attended the College of Colorado Boulder, the place she earned a bachelor’s in enterprise administration. 

“I’m extraordinarily grateful to obtain the Beatrice Shipley award,” she mentioned. “To observe within the footsteps of a lady who paved the best way for therefore many in our trade is an honor.”

Bodoh added, “We’re so happy to award Nicole with this scholarship. She is enthusiastic about jewellery and serving her prospects. This chance will assist her additional advance her profession.” 

Beatrice and Robert created GIA and AGS within the Nineteen Thirties with the purpose of training jewelers and professionalizing the trade. 

GIA President and CEO Susan Jacques mentioned, “We’re happy and honored to see the legacy of Beatrice Shipley residing on on this alternative. Congratulations to Nicole Hurdle for being awarded this scholarship! I’m sure that you’ll develop your experience and your community of passionate professionals.”