Beyonce & Jay Z Surprise Teenagers with $100,000 Scholarships During Their on the Run II Tour

These days – especially in the USA – it’s almost unthinkable to secure a solid financial future for yourself or to support a family without some type of higher education. A high school diploma or general education degree isn’t nearly as useful as it was 30 years ago.

To get ahead, you have to take the time and spend the money to get some type of vocational training or, as many young people have been doing since the late 90s, earn a four-year degree at a major university.

In this article:

1. Several Hard-Working Teens Earn Six-Figure Scholarships
2. The Scholarship Initiative: Shawn Carter Foundation + BeyGOOD for the Next Generation
• The Boys & Girls Clubs of America

Unfortunately, the cost of tuition, books, administrative fees, housing, and more have been rising almost exponentially over the past 30 years as well. Outside of taking out exorbitant student loans and being in debt for the next 10 to 25 years of their post-graduation lives, affording college is a difficult task for many young adults.

But Beyonce and Jay-Z recently decided to make that task a little less difficult for a select few hard working students across the country.

The word “wealthy” almost seems insultingly insufficient to describe the financial resources of this benevolent power couple. But instead of hoarding their wealth like so many billionaires across the world, they’re giving back and awarding over a million dollars in merit-based scholarships to a select few lucky individuals.

Personally, we think the hard work of these young and ambitious people is getting an exceptionally well deserved reward, and we want to highlight the recipients of this massive scholarship initiative.

Several Hard-Working Teens Earn Six-Figure Scholarships

One of the first recipients of these scholarships was Keshawn Morgan of Orlando, Florida. Keshawn – like all of the scholarship recipients – has been an active participant in the Boys & Girls Clubs of America for many years. He plans on using his scholarship money to apply to law school. But he hasn’t yet decided whether to aim for an ivy league institution or an HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities).

Next on the list was Mikayla Lowry of Glendale, AZ. She received her scholarship during the Arizona stop of the On the Run II Tour. As of this writing, she hasn’t decided on any specific universities to apply to; however, she is planning to major in marine biology.

Beyonce and her husband made several stops in her home state of Texas during their On the Run II Tour as well. Several Texas teens were awarded massive scholarships on more than one Texas tour stop.

Alezae Uresti of Galveston, TX was on the receiving end of one of them and plans to put the money towards a degree in Forensic Science Pathology from Texas State University.

During the concert in Arlington, Shaykeim Powe got the surprise of his life when he found out he was going to be the next recipient. He’s been learning sign language for many years and an active advocate for the hearing impaired. Shaykeim plans use his scholarship award to major in American Sign Language studies at the University of Houston.

Finally, on the Southeastern swing of the tour, Emily Garay of Miami, FL was surprised to find out that she would be among the esteemed recipients of her own $100,000 scholarship. Her plans for the future include attending the prestigious Florida International University and earning a degree in Criminology with a minor in Marketing.

Unbeknownst to some, a fellow performer on the tour was about to upstage the festivities. DJ Khaled, a Miami native, gave a matching scholarship to Jonathan Burgos during the south Florida concert so that he can pursue an electrical engineering degree at Boston’s MIT.

The Scholarship Initiative: Shawn Carter Foundation + BeyGOOD for the Next Generation

Both Beyonce and Jay-Z have established and maintained their own separate scholarship opportunities over the years.

The Queen Bee began investing in the educational future of young students across the country through her BeyGOOD initiative back in 2013. Since then, it has been responsible for merit-based programs such as The Formation Scholars Award (for females) and The Homecoming Scholars Award (for all students planning to attend any of 8 specific HBCUs).

Her husband, known to most as Jay-Z, started his public charity under his legal name back in 2003.

His mother Gloria is a founding member of the foundation and together their family has dedicated over $4 million for initiatives designed to empower communities in need and the young people therein.

Some of these initiatives have included college prep courses, scholarship funds, international travel, and professional skills development along with Community & Goodwill programs.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of America

The scholarship awards during the On The Run II tour would not have been possible without the assistance of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

The Shawn Carter Foundation and the BeyGOOD initiative asked the Boys & Girls Clubs to choose the eventual recipients. As an added touch, all the recipients were taken to the show for free with their fellow Boys & Girls Clubs members in order to celebrate the special occasion.

Unbeknownst to the recipients, though, their award was a complete surprise – none of them were informed ahead of time that they were about to receive such a massive opportunity.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of America have been working hard to improve the futures of disenfranchised youth since 1860.

The original goal of the organization was to get wayward boys off the streets and to guide them in a more productive, successful direction. It wasn’t until 1990 that the ladies were added to the official title of the Boys & Girls Clubs Of America despite the active participation of women and young girls for many, many years.

Their century-old mission statement to “enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens” couldn’t be a clearer statement of their benevolent intentions.

The final stop on the On the Run II Tour was in Seattle, WA on October 4th, 2018. Our deepest congratulations go out to the winners. We hope their futures are as bright as they are right now in this moment, and that they continue to make positive changes in the world.