Students at Promise Academy in Harlem have a lot to be happy about right now.
Each of the 114 students in this year's senior class graduated and will be attending college next year.
Adding to their amazing accomplishment, the Promise Academy invited Pharrell to be their commencement speaker. Thankfully, he came bearing gifts.
"For every member of the 2019 graduating class, there is a guaranteed internship waiting for them next summer," he said as the crowd roared.
We are in the midst of the new Harlem Renaissance with education at its core. Which is why I’ve promised an internship next summer for every student of the @hczorg Promise Academy #ClassOf2019, all of whom were accepted to college. ???????????????? pic.twitter.com/P9IcvVA69a
— Pharrell Williams (@Pharrell) June 27, 2019
"The world is watching Harlem but this renaissance will be different. and believe it or not, with respect, it's gonna actually be better. The reason why is because the new Harlem renaissance has education at its core."
With this outstanding contribution, Pharrell joins many of his contemporaries. In 2018, The Carters announced that they were starting a new joint college scholarship. Not to mention, Beyoncé has her own Formation Scholars initiative to go along with Jay-Z's Shawn Carter Foundation scholarship program. More recently, T.I. offered a $25,000 scholarship to a single mother attending Philander Smith College. Educational philanthropy is a trend that will hopefully extend well beyond 2019 in the entertainment industry.
