Hospitality management major Josie Anaya is one of just 18 students nationwide selected as a 2025 US Foods Scholar and will receive a $20,000 scholarship.
This year’s class of scholars represents 14 top culinary and hospitality programs across the country, with recipients chosen for their exceptional talent, academic achievement, and commitment to the future of the hospitality industry. In addition to the scholarship, Anaya will receive professional development opportunities through US Foods.
“I am so immensely proud to be a US Foods Scholar. This award reinforces my love of the culinary and hospitality industries and makes my passion feel both meaningful and valued,” Anaya says.
Anaya, who has a minor in advertising and public relations, hopes for a career in the restaurant marketing side of the industry.
“I would love to work for a media company that centers itself around different culinary developments and food trends and just shares food experiences with people,” she says.
Anaya interned with Manhattan-based Concrete Hospitality Group during the 2025 spring semester, working on menus and social media for the company’s five restaurants in New York City.
The Rockaway Beach, New York native chose USC in part because of the hospitality she found here when visiting.
“My home town is super diverse, a really tight, close-knit community, and I was really just looking for a college that had that same type of core values. When I came to USC, I felt so welcomed,” she says.
USC’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, recognized as one of the best hospitality and tourism management schools in the country, was also a perfect fit.
“I've always kind of wanted to do hospitality. it just felt like the perfect fit for me because I've always loved the food industry. I would come home from school when I was little in elementary school and I would immediately turn on Food Network and my mom would make fun of me, but I always felt like blending cultures and cuisines really just brings people together and that's what I love.”
Anaya feels the highly-ranked program at USC is preparing her well for her future career.
“The professors are so dedicated and they really just care about student success. I feel like certain courses that I've taken have just prepared me so much for graduation. Last semester I took the Marnie Pearce Professionalism Seminar, where we are trained to really perform in a professional setting and land interviews for internships or jobs. I'm in a course right now called Restaurant Management where we are operating and managing the school restaurant, McCutchen House ,that's fully student led, so that's amazing. I get to see the marketing side of things and the operating side of things. So I feel like USC has really prepared us for graduation,” she says.
Since its launch in 2017, the US Foods Scholars program has awarded more than $2 million in scholarships to over 100 students, pairing financial support with mentorship to prepare them for successful culinary and hospitality careers. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the restaurant industry is projected to add more than 200,000 jobs this year and grow 8% over the next decade.