Meet the 2024 Scholarship Winners
July 18, 2024—The MJSA Education Foundation, which supports career and training initiatives for students and workers throughout the jewelry industry, has awarded $3,000 scholarships to three students intent on pursuing professional careers in jewelry making and design.
Tahnee Barbee is working toward a certificate in jewelry technology at the Texas Institute of Jewelry Technology (TIJT) in Paris, Texas. After a professional career that ranged from working on a weekly newspaper in the 1990s to handling corporate finances, she decided in 2022 to turn a part-time jewelry-making avocation into a full-time practice. She enrolled at TIJT in 2023 and expects to earn her certificate at the end of this year. After graduating, she plans to seek a job as a bench jeweler while continuing to work on her own designs in her home studio.
![](https://cms.mjsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Tahnee_Barbee_headshot.jpg)
This fall, Gigi Sui will enter her second year at North Bennet Street School (NBSS) in Boston, where she expects to earn a certificate in jewelry making and repair in May 2025. "I've always enjoyed creating arts," she says, and initially hoped to pursue a career as a painter after graduating from high school in 2014. Instead, she taught herself basic wire-wrapping skills while working full time—first as a certified nail technician, then as a pharmacy technician—before realizing she wanted to pursue a full-time jewelry career. After graduating from NBSS, she'd like to work as a bench jeweler and eventually create custom designs.
![](https://cms.mjsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Gigi_Sui_headshot.jpg)
For Daniela Villacorta, jewelry making is in her blood: her father has worked for Scott Kay and David Yurman, her grandfather was employed by major jewelry manufacturers in Peru, and she still uses tools handed down from her great uncles. She currently studies metalsmithing part time at Kean University in Union, New Jersey, while also working in the office of a nearby jewelry manufacturer, Mataci Inc. She's looking to earn her BFA in 2026 and ultimately have her own business focused on jewelry that explores cultural motifs and is based in sustainable practices.
![](https://cms.mjsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Daniela_Villacorta_headshot.jpg)
To learn more about the Foundation's "Future of Jewelry Making” scholarships, go to mjsa.info/scholarships.
The MJSA Education Foundation is a 501(c)(3) subsidiary of MJSA, the U.S. trade alliance of jewelry makers, designers, and related suppliers dedicated to professional excellence. Since 1997, the Foundation has awarded nearly $270,000 to aspiring jewelers (including $20,000 donated by the Providence Jewelers Club). All funds are managed by the Rhode Island Foundation on behalf of MJSA.
In addition to the annual "Future of Jewelry Making" scholarships, the Foundation also sponsors the MJSA Mentor & Apprentice Program as well as a Career Connections initiative to unite businesses with qualified workers. To learn more, go to mjsa.info/foundation.