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The road to generational wealth often starts with opportunities gained and connections made through a quality education. This philosophy fueled the scholarship opportunity launched by bespoke jewelry designer Lorraine Schwartz and longtime friend, musician, and philanthropist, Beyonce Knowles-Carter. The Beyoncé Knowles-Carter x Lorraine Schwartz GIA Scholarship set out to award two winners a full ride’s tuition to earn a diploma from GIA, a prestigious nonprofit institution rooted in the education of gems in jewelry. Monday, the two initial winners of Knowles-Carter’s choosing — Audriana Osborne of Alabama, and Shelton Bradford of California — were announced during a surprise Zoom call.
“I was impressed with their passion and the knowledge of gems that so many applicants displayed,” Knowles-Carter said in a press release. “I am praying that this is just the beginning of opening more doors to diversity and raw inspiration in the jewelry industry.”
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Valued at an excess of $20,000, the scholarship opportunity was gifted to Knowles-Carter by Schwartz, who said the performer’s wish for her birthday last September was for Schwartz and her brand to support upcoming Black talent in any way possible.
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In the end, the scholarship was awarded to three contestants total, as Knowles-Carter and her husband Jay-Z announced after awarding the first two winners that they would then fund a scholarship for a third winner, Kulla Jutani of Washington, who was chosen from the applicant pool.
The winners were chosen based on their personal essays, which Knowles-Carter had spent a month reviewing, each inspiringly detailing their goals and what they planned to achieve with the knowledge gained at GIA.
To learn more about the Beyoncé Knowles-Carter x Lorraine Schwartz GIA Scholarship and its three selected winners, you can watch the winner announcement here.