AFL Presents 2018-2019 Naruse Academic Scholarship Award

05-30-2018

Spartanburg, SC – AFL presented the 2018-2019 Naruse Academic Scholarship award to Julia McElhinny, daughter of Steve McElhinny, IT Director in AFL’s Information Technology department. The award recognizes students with outstanding academic achievement, initiative and community service.

Graduating as the valedictorian of her class, Julia is a National Merit Scholarship Corporation Finalist, a U.S. Presidential Scholar Candidate and a National AP Scholar. She has been active in the National Beta Club, Key Club, Spanish Honors Society and National Honor Society. Julia has also been an involved member of her community, performing over 400 hours of volunteer service with multiple local organizations.

In addition to her dedication to academics and community service, Julia also received varsity letters in Cross Country and Swimming. Julia has been a year-round swimmer since the age of nine, and has qualified for the South Carolina Swimming State Championships and USA Swimming Southern Zone Sectionals on numerous occasions. During her summers, Julia has worked as a swim league coach and a swim lesson instructor for young children.  

Julia plans to attend Wake Forest University this fall to continue her education in Environmental Science and Biology on a track toward Public Health at the graduate level. She wants to research the effects of human activities on the environment and how these changes are negatively impacting humans across the globe. Public Health will allow her to work in health services with a strong emphasis in STEM-based research. She’s currently interested in pursuing Environmental Health, Epidemiology and/or Biostatistics. These fields combine her interests in math and science with her love for service to others.

Each year, AFL awards a four-year scholarship to the son or daughter of a North American-based AFL associate entering a college or university. The scholarship was named in memory of Toshihide Naruse, Managing Director of Fujikura, AFL’s parent company. Mr. Naruse’s contributions to AFL were significant, and because of his personal interest in higher education, AFL continues to honor his memory.

To learn more about AFL, its products and services, and community outreach, visit www.AFLglobal.com.

About AFL
Founded in 1984, AFL is an international manufacturer providing end-to-end solutions to the energy, service provider, enterprise and industrial markets as well as several emerging markets. The company’s products are in use in over 130 countries and include fiber optic cable and hardware, transmission and substation accessories, outside plant equipment, connectivity, test and inspection equipment, fusion splicers and training. AFL also offers a wide variety of services supporting data center, enterprise, wireless and outside plant applications.

Headquartered in Spartanburg, SC, AFL has operations in the U.S., Mexico, Canada, Europe, Asia and Australia, and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fujikura Ltd. of Japan. For more information, visit www.AFLglobal.com. 

Contact
Corie Culp
Community Relations Manager
AFL
864.433.5409
Corie.Culp@AFLglobal.com