Four scholars have been announced as recipients for Beyoncé’s formation scholarship. The announcement was made through her website on Thursday, June 15th, 2017 after all finalists were selected by committees from the eligible colleges and universities. 

“The Formation Scholars award encourages and supports young women who are bold, creative, conscious, confident and unafraid to think outside the box. Students’ disciplines included creative arts, music, literature and African-American studies. All applicants maintain a 3.5 GPA or above and submitted a short essay stating how LEMONADE inspired their educational goals.

Current and incoming female undergraduate and graduate students at Berklee College of Music, including those enrolled at the college’s campuses in Boston and Valencia, Spain, Berklee online and Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Howard University in Washington, DC, Parsons School of Design at The New School in New York City, and Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, were eligible for the scholarships.”

The winners are  Howard University graduate student, Maya Rogers; Spelman College rising senior, Bria Paige, Berklee College of Music sophomore, Sadiya Ramos and Parsons School of Design student, Avery Youngblood.

Like Beyoncé did with “Lemonade,” these women are using their arts to make a real difference. Avery is finding ways that her design work can intersect with her undergraduate degree in Linguistics and Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, and Maya’s music has helped her recover from a brain injury she sustained four years ago.

Check out the winners below, and congrats to the ladies!

SADIYA RAMOS SOPHOMORE BERKLEE COLLEGE OF MUSIC Sadiya is studying dance at Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Originally from Suffern, New York, she began dancing at the age of six under the guidance of Arthur Mitchell at the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Ramos worked with François Perron at the French Academie of Ballet as a teenager, where she acquired the instruction needed to develop her individual style and improve her performance skills.		AVERY YOUNGBLOOD SECOND-YEAR STUDENT PARSONS SCHOOL OF DESIGN Avery Youngblood is a recent Stanford University graduate, Class of 2016 and an undergraduate student in the AAS (Associates) Graphic Design program at Parsons School of Design at The New School, Class of 2018. As an undergraduate at Stanford she studied Linguistics and Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity. Avery discovered that it was possible to translate her creative curiosity for design by focusing on language and the social interaction that takes place in our multicultural society, and the variety of platforms we use to connect with one another.
MAYA ROGERS GRADUATE STUDENT HOWARD UNIVERSITY Maya Rogers is a songwriter and vocalist who believes in the power that music has to heal, connect us with one another, and help us understand ourselves more deeply. Maya has returned to school to study music therapy after recovering from a traumatic brain injury in 2013. She describes her recovery as the most frightening and fascinating time of her life, and music played a large role in her regaining the ability to read, write, play music, and sing.		BRIA PAIGE JUNIOR SPELMAN COLLEGE Bria Paige is a rising junior English major at Spelman College from Jackson, Mississippi. At Spelman, Bria is invested in her academics as she maintains membership in the Ethel Waddell Githii Honors Program, Alpha Lambda Delta honor society, and is a Dean’s List scholar. In addition, Bria holds various leadership positions, including Spelman Student Government Association (SSGA) Secretary of Academic Affairs and co-President of the English Club.