Travis Scott Is Passionate About HBCU Education & Put $1 Million Towards It

Education matters to Travis Scott. The rapper recently awarded $1 million in scholarships to graduating seniors at 38 historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU). The funds were given out through Scott's Cactus Jack Foundation and the Waymon Webster Scholarship Fund, which is named after his grandfather, who was a dean of an HBCU.

“Waymon Webster was a Dean of the Prairie View A&M graduate school,” Scott said in a statement on his website. “My grandfather wanted me to take it all the way through college, I feel there is a power in education so to be able to give someone the opportunity to fulfill that dream as my papa thought for me is amazing.”

The 2022 recipients of the scholarship include students from Fisk University, Florida A&M University, and North Carolina Central University. To qualify students had to be a graduating senior with an average GPA of 3.5 or higher and who may have experienced financial challenges in their final spring 2022 semester.

Scholarship recipient and Florida A&M student Nisha Encarnacion, who is also a mother, said she spent eight years trying to get her doctorate in pharmacy and said funded most of her education. “I struggle financially throughout college,” Nisha said in a thank you video post on YouTube, “and this scholarship would help me get out of some of my debt and some of my student loans and also it would help my family. My mom solely depends on me and I have a daughter also, so a lot going on but I am so grateful.”

The Cactus Jack Foundation aims to “empower and enrich the lives of youth by providing access to education and creative resources to ensure long-term success,” according to the website’s mission statement.

Overall, one hundred $10,000 scholarships were given out this year. This is the second year, Scott has awarded HBCU students through his foundation. Last year's recipients included students from Howard University, Morehouse College, Texas Southern University, and Grambling State University.

Last year, Scott opened a community garden center in his hometown of Houston called the Cactus Jack Garden Center for kids who want to learn about the environment and gardening. There’s also the Cactus Design Center, a 60,000-square-foot facility for middle and high school students who have an interest in pursuing design and engineering careers. The rapper also has the Project HEAL program, which provides scholarships and free mental health resources.

Scott’s children with his partner Kylie Jenner, 4-year-old daughter Stormi and a 3-month-old son, whose name has not yet been revealed but was previously Wolf, are too young to understand just how important education is, but their dad will surely go all out for the big moments. For instance, when his daughter couldn’t stop talking about riding a big yellow bus, he surprised Stormi with her own school bus.