Beyoncé partners with Lorraine Schwartz to award three $20,000 scholarships to Black Students attending the Gemology Institute of America (GIA); the scholarship will include tuition and all expenses paid.
The application process ended on April 19th. Winners were notified via Zoom that they received the scholarship.
Audriana Osborne, from Montgomery, is one of the three people to receive the scholarship. The Alabama native couldn’t contain her excitement.
“I’m so full of gratitude,” says Osborne. “I’m honored, and I’m so excited for the opportunity.”
Queen Bey personally selected the winning applicants. She was impressed by their “passion and the knowledge of gems that so many applicants displayed.”
“I am praying that this is just the beginning of opening more doors to diversity and raw inspiration in the jewelry industry,” she adds.
Valued at $20,000 each, the scholarship was influenced by the Superstar’s birthday wish last year.
“For Beyoncé’s birthday last year, she told friends and family that in lieu of presents, she wanted us to support Black-owned businesses any way we could,” Schwarts explains in a video. This request is what sparked the Beyonce Knowles-Carter x Lorraine Schwarts GIA Scholarship.
“Her work for the Black community is without limit”, Schwartz adds, “and her efforts have inspired me and made me extremely proud to be her friend and partner on this initiative.”
In a video, according to WSFA12, Osborne pledges to use the scholarship for good use.
“The hope is for me to absolutely learn all I possibly can and fuse that knowledge I have now and the career I have now with a career in the jewelry industry,” says Osborne. “Having that space to blend that creativity and using the power of law to fuse that into a really just religious, new, innovative, and avant-garde career.”
The winners also include, Kulla Jatani of Seattle and Shelton Bradford of Lake Forest, California.
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