South Florida Junior Achievement Student Receives $10,000 Scholarship from Office Depot; Special Check Presentation to Be Held at Office Depot Store in Hollywood on June 11.

News Editors/Business Editors/Education Writers

HOLLYWOOD, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 9, 2003

Talha Syed, a Junior Achievement (JA) student from Pembroke Pines, Fla. has been awarded the 2003 Office Depot Scholarship. The scholarship is awarded to top high school seniors who have participated in a JA program. Talha, a recent graduate from McArthur High School in Hollywood, Florida, has been an active participant in the JA Economics program.

A special check presentation recognizing Talha's achievement will be held at Office Depot's retail store located at 4901 Sheridan Street in Hollywood on Wednesday, June 11 at 11:00 a.m. McArthur High School Principal, Dr. Beverly James and Area Superintendent, Dr. Sam Gregg will join Office Depot executives and Junior Achievement President, Melissa Aiello at the event.

The Office Depot scholarship consists of a $10,000 award to students who have demonstrated superior academic achievement, leadership skills, and active participation in JA. The award may be used for education expenses at any accredited post-secondary educational institution for any field of study.

"We are proud of our partnership with JA and happy to help provide educational support to outstanding students like Talha," said Dave Vargas, District Manager for Office Depot's South Florida region. "We wish him the best of luck as he strives to further his educational goals and career aspirations."

This is the first year that Office Depot has offered these scholarships. The $10,000 award will be given to six students nationwide, one from each Office Depot region.

"We are pleased to award this scholarship to Talha," said David S. Chernow, president and CEO of Junior Achievement. "It is outstanding JA students like him who are a shining example of how hard work and determination lead to success in a student's educational career and later in life in their professional career."

"We are very proud of Talha and his accomplishments," said Melissa Aiello, president of JA of South Florida. "This scholarship is a wonderful way to recognize his hard work throughout his academic career and I know he will continue to excel in college."

Talha ranked in the top 5% of his class and was extremely active in school, including as a member of three honor societies including the National Honor Society, Junior Academy of Science, and Mu Alpha Theta. Talha is enrolled at Florida International University in the fall majoring in Business Administration.

"Junior Achievement is very worthwhile because it not only provides students with knowledge of and experience in the world of free enterprise, but it also instills the entrepreneurial spirit in each of us," Talha said. "This is the imagination and ingenuity that brings about success in the world of business. I am truly grateful to Office Depot and JA for this award."

(A photo of Talha Syed is available upon request.)

About Junior Achievement

Junior Achievement is the world's largest and fastest-growing organization dedicated to educating young people about business, economics and free enterprise. Through age-appropriate curricula, JA programs begin at the elementary school level, teaching children how they can impact the world around them as individuals, workers and consumers. JA programs continue through the middle and high school grades, preparing students for additional key economic and workforce issues they will face in the future. Today JA reaches more than four million students through 150 offices nationwide and another two million students in more than 100 countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.ja.org.

About Office Depot

No one sells more office products to more customers in more countries than Office Depot. The Company operates under the Office Depot(R), Viking Office Products(R), Viking Direct(R) and 4Sure.com(R) brand names. As of March 29, 2003, Office Depot operated 871 office supply superstores in the United States and Canada, in addition to a national business-to-business delivery network supported by 24 delivery centers, more than 60 local sales offices and 13 regional call centers. Furthermore, the Company sells products and services in 20 countries outside of the United States and Canada, including 38 office supply stores in France, one in Spain and 12 in Japan that are owned and operated by the Company; and 123 additional office supply stores under joint venture and licensing agreements operating under the Office Depot(R) name in seven foreign countries.

The Company also operates an award-winning U.S. Office Depot brand web site at www.officedepot.com where customers can access Office Depot's low competitive prices seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day. The Company also operates more than 30 other web sites in the U.S. and 13 international countries including: Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Japan, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Office Depot's common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ODP and is included in the S&P 500 Index.