A group of high school graduates just got the little push they needed towards a better future.
According to CNN, rapper and super-producer Pharrell Williams is offering internships to over 100 students from Harlem.
CNN on Twitter
Pharrell Williams just offered internships to 114 Harlem high school grads https://t.co/rRa2MLRmzY
In a keynote speech last week, Williams guaranteed “A-list internships” to every 2019 graduate of Promise Academy’s two high schools at the end of their freshman year of college, said Harlem Children’s Zone, the organization that runs the charter schools.
“The world is watching Harlem, but this renaissance will be different,” said Williams during his speech. Adding “Believe it or not… it’s going to actually be better. The reason why is because the new Harlem Renaissance has education at its core.”
Harlem Children’s Zone CEO Ann Williams-Isom says all 114 graduates have been accepted to college, noting that this opportunity will urge them to “be a leader for justice and change in the world.”
Students such as Brionna Pope were shocked by the announcement.
“I was surprised and shocked and relieved,” she told CNN. “A lot of us who were financially struggling … to at least know we had a head start in life because next summer we would be able to get internships and make connections.”
The soon-to-be Syracuse University freshman said the opportunity will change a lot for her and her classmates.
Pope will be majoring in animation and has hopes about her future with this newfound help from Williams.
Just last month billionaire investor Robert F. Smith shocked the 2019 graduating class of Morehouse University by vowing to pay off their student loans.
Pope and many others are apart of a new generation of graduate students who’s future will be greatly impacted thanks to the generous acts of Smith, Williams, and others.
