Imane “Pokimane” Anys has teamed up with the American Video Game League (AVGL) to gift ten $10,000 college scholarships to young gamers.
The creator, who has 8.4 million followers on Twitch and 6.7 million subscribers on YouTube, will donate $50,000 to power the scholarship. The AVGL, a college esports organization, will supply the other $50,000.
Anys and AVGL’s scholarship is open to high school juniors and seniors in the U.S. and Canada who plan on attending college in fall 2022. Entrants must film a one- to two-minute video “highlighting your background and goals as a gamer” between now and Dec. 31, 2021. Winners will be announced in February 2022.
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This is the third scholarship Anys has founded. In 2020, she partnered with the University of California Irvine (and donated $50,000) to launch the “Poki” scholarship, which will go to one student in the university’s esports program every year “forever,” Anys said.
At the same time she announced that scholarship, Anys said she will also sponsor four students per year through STEM Advantage, a nonprofit that encourages marginalized students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math.
In a statement about her scholarship with AVGL, Anys said, “With both of my parents being teachers, I’m especially proud to be launching another scholarship to help students with a gaming passion. I know firsthand that it’s not easy to balance schoolwork and a gaming career. I hope that this scholarship will alleviate that stress for aspiring gaming content creators and players.”
Anys’ own career involves a fair amount of balancing. She is a full-time Twitch streamer as well as co-owner, with Markiplier and Jacksepticeye, of apparel brand Cloak, and in October she opened RTS, her own gaming-focused talent management firm. Anys serves as the firm’s chief creative officer.
