On Wednesday, the Hollywood Reporter’s 2018 Women in Entertainment gala celebrated the creators, producers, dealmakers and executives that comprise Hollywood.
It was held at Milk Studios in Los Angeles, during which, Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong’o and Danai Gurira took the stage to announce The Black Panther Scholarship, which would reward one student from The Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Entertainment Mentorship Program with a $250,000 full-ride to the prestigious Loyola Marymount University. Per THR, the program is now in its ninth year and is executed in concert with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles.
“We know that if we want to live in a world that looks more like Wakanda, the first step is you invest in women and girls,” said Gurira, to raucous applause.
The scholarship—which was created by Walt Disney Studios—was awarded to 17-year-old Kalis Coleman, who has plans to become a pediatric dermatologist.
“I would like to thank my parents who birthed me, who made me who I am today,” Coleman said after receiving the scholarship. “I just want to stand and say this is for girls who live in Compton, who live in Inglewood, and this is for girls and men who face adversaries. I just want to say that we can do it and it is possible.”
Prior to announcing the winner, Boseman thanked Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn, Walt Disney Studios president Alan Bergman, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, Black Panther director Ryan Coogler, as well as “the entire team at the Walt Disney Studios.”
Take that, Thanos.