Imane “Pokimane” Anys is donating $50,000 to the University of California Irvine to help fund scholarship opportunities for students looking to participate in the school’s various collegiate esports competitions, the streamer announced today.
The Twitch streamer and YouTuber is helping create the “Pokimane Scholarship” in partnership with UCI Esports to support students who wish to pursue their college degree while also competing in high-level gaming competitions.
Pokimane said that balancing her passion for gaming while working toward a degree wasn’t easy for her when she attended McMaster University prior to dropping out.
“I am so pleased to be able to give back to the gaming world, which has given me so much,” Pokimane said. “I love being able to share my experience of how I got to where I am today in hopes that it will help others who are on their way. I’m also especially happy to be supporting UCI’s esports program because their students are focusing on gaming in addition to pursuing their college degrees—which, I can say from experience, isn’t easy.”
UCI’s esports program competes in collegiate tournaments for League of Legends and Overwatch and has been consistently growing since it began in 2015, even becoming national champions in 2018. The Pokimane Scholarship will begin supporting a single undergraduate in 2022, with about $2,500 given out annually to a deserving student chosen by UCI Esports.
There will be no limit to how many times a person can earn the scholarship during their time with the program, but details about the requirements won’t be available for some time. Pokimane’s total donation of $50,000 will be split up into two gifts to the university over the next two years, both worth $25,000, which will fund the scholarship in perpetuity.
Along with her donation, the streamer will also be sponsoring four STEM Advantage scholars who are pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, or math.
“This is such an exciting experience for the UCI gaming community,” said president of The Association of Gamers at UCI Shannon Chan. “It’s very inspiring and heartwarming to see such a prominent streamer interact so closely with us. Thank you to Pokimane for her generous gift! As a leader in our campus gaming scene, I’ve gotten to know so many passionate gamers who, I’m sure, will be thrilled about this. I’m excited to see how this will support them.”
More information will be available in the future as the details behind the scholarship and various requirements are finalized between Pokimane and UCI.
