Visa, a global payments technology company, has announced the inaugural class of the Visa Black Scholars and Jobs Program. The program is awarding 50 incoming first-year college students around the country scholarship assistance for up to four years. This fall, the 50 Visa Black Scholars are attending four-year institutions in all regions of the country, including Brown University, the Georgia Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Howard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Morehouse College, North Carolina A&T State University, University of Maryland Baltimore, University of Michigan, and Yale University, among others.
In addition to financial assistance, Visa Black Scholars will work with mentors from the company throughout their college experience, participate in a Scholars Summit at Visa’s headquarter in 2022, and receive year-round programming and training aimed at developing their professional and technical skills. Scholars will also be provided opportunities for paid internships and those who meet program requirements will be invited to join Visa full-time after graduation.
Established in partnership with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, the Visa Black Scholars and Jobs Program includes a $10 million investment over the next five years.
Michelle Gethers-Clark, chief diversity officer and head of corporate social responsibility at Visa, said that “the Visa Black Scholars and Jobs Program eliminates financial hurdles in education and supports the development of income-earning skills through a program designed to have multi-generational impact for our scholars and their families.”
