Hampton University student wins $25,000 scholarship from Wale

theGRIO REPORT - One Hampton University student got the opportunity of a lifetime when she received a $25,000 scholarship from rapper and DC native, Wale...

TheGrio Staff

Jul 25, 2013

One Hampton University student got the opportunity of a lifetime when she received a $25,000 scholarship from rapper and Washington D.C. native Wale.

Sophomore psychology major Lauren Pryor won the rapper’s scholarship through a local Norfolk hip-hop radio station, 103 JAMZ, on June 18th.

Pryor then had the opportunity to be flown to New York City on June 23-24 to receive her scholarship at Wale’s The Gifted album release party held in the Best Buy Theater.

Hampton University News broadcast the student’s good fortune a few weeks later, and the story has then been featured on many blogs since then.

The HBCU’s blog reported that the female student was on the brink of not returning to the university due to financial hardship.

Pryor told the Gloucester-Mathews Gazette-Journal that she almost hung up the phone after making many calls with no answer.

“I was on my way to a friend’s home in Hampton when I heard the radio challenge that the 25th caller would win the prize. The station said to call between 4 and 5 p.m. I called four or five times, the line was always busy,” said Pryor. “On about the 14th call I told myself to give it a rest. I was taking the phone from my face and had my thumb on the end button when I heard a man say ‘hello.’ I didn’t believe it. He told me there were millions of calls and he only picked up the phone 14 times nationwide.”

Pryor said that winning the scholarship was “a blessing”.