#royalteeapproved 

With all of the technology and state-of the-art gadgets we saw in Black Panther, it’s safe to say that the Wakandans believe in  having a quality, higher education. During The Hollywood Reporter‘s 2018 Women in Entertainment event on Wednesday [Dec. 6], Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong’o and Danai Gurira  presented The Black Panther Scholarship. Created by Disney, the $250,000 scholarship is awarded to one girl from THR‘s Women in Entertainment Mentorship Program to attend Loyola Marymount University.  The university is a longtime partner for the program.

This year’s recipient was Kalis Coleman, 17,  from Inglewood, California. Coleman plans to become a pediatric dermatologist.

“I would like to thank my parents who birthed me, who made me who I am today,” says Coleman. “I just want to stand and say this is for girls who live in Compton, who live in Inglewood, and this is for girls and men who face adversaries. I just want to say that we can do it and it is possible.”

Each of the 18 girls in the mentorship program received a $10,000 scholarship; six received full ride scholarships worth over $250,000  to attend Loyola Marymount University.

“We know that if we want to live in a world that looks more like Wakanda, the first step is you invest in women and girls,” Gurira says.

This is the 9th year of  THR‘s Women in Entertainment Mentorship Program. Since its creation, the program has raised more than $6 million in scholarship money.