Beyoncé made history at the 2018 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival by becoming the first Black woman to headline in the festival’s 19-year run. The jubilant set, housed on a pyramid stage with 150-plus cast members, dutifully in-sync, was the first time the icon returned to her home, the stage, in over one year. The show, with its homage to excellence in education, was a celebration of the homecoming weekend experience, the highest display of college pride. It was the impetus to mark her second scholarship program.
Beyoncé, through her BeyGOOD initiative, partnered with Google.org, the charitable arm of tech giant Google, to award scholarships as part of her Homecoming Scholars Award Program. Google.org matched the $100,000 grant, enabling four additional HBCUs to receive $25,000 scholarships for the 2018-2019 academic year. A total of eight schools will now receive Homecoming Scholars awards for the 2018-2019 academic year, including Texas Southern University, Fisk University, Grambling State University, Morehouse College, Xavier University of Louisiana, Wilberforce University, Tuskegee University, and Bethune-Cookman University. One winner from each school will receive $25K for the 2018-2019 academic year for study in various fields. All finalists and winners will be selected by the universities and winners will be announced this summer.
Founded in 2013 during the Mrs. Carter Show World Tour, BeyGOOD is an extension of Beyoncé’s charitable heart. Through impactful dynamic partnerships, BeyGOOD’s mission is to set an example of giving back and paying it forward while empowering others to do the same with what they have in their own commnities.
Photo Credit: Raven Varona
