Beyoncé has announced this year’s recipients of her Homecoming Scholars Award Program, and all eight winners hail from historically Black colleges and universities.
The Lemonade singer made the announcement on her website on Monday. Through her BeyGOOD program, she initially only named four universities, but “extended the program to all qualifying students at the universities, regardless of gender.”
The students, who won $25,000 in scholarship money for the 2018-2019 year, are: Allana J. Barefield from Xavier University, Erin Evans from Wilberforce University, Caleb Washington from Tuskegee University, Demetrius Weaver from Bethune-Cookman University, Jordan Davis from Texas Southern University, Dartishia Mosley from Fisk University, Cletus Emokpae from Grambling State University and Kameron Willis from Morehouse College.
“[Y’all] I’m a recipient of Beyoncé’s scholarship,” Willis, the Morehouse student tweeted in all caps.
For Emokpae, it was an emotional experience when he found out he had received the scholarship.
“And then I just started crying,” he told KNOE. “I haven’t cried in over a decade.”
“Wow, I was just thankful,” he continued. “It was another thing that I don’t have to worry about. It was the first time I felt like I really was recognized for something I’ve done.“
Beyoncé announced the merit-based scholarships this past April following her epic Coachella performance, which was an homage to historically Black schools and their culture. This is the second scholarship program from BeyGOOD. Last year, the singer launched the Formation Scholarship, which aimed to award young women who “think outside the box and are bold, creative, conscious and confident.”
The eight winners can use the scholarship to pursue studies in literature, creative arts, African-American studies, science, education, business, communications, social sciences, computer science and engineering and must maintain a 3.5 GPA or above.
Congrats!
