Stormzy makes £9,000 donation so student can go to Harvard
Grime star made the generous donation after supporters asked him to share the crowdfunding campaign
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Stormzy has made a £9,000 donation to a student's crowdfunding campaign so she can study at Harvard University.
Fiona Asiedu, who currently attends university at Oxford, was aiming to raise £12,000 to cover the cost of tuition and other expenses.
On the Crowdfunder page she wrote that she was "particularly interested in psychological development of individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, specifically ethnic minorities and those from working class backgrounds".
She added: "Studying Human Development and Psychology will equip me with the knowledge and skills necessary to generate effective interventions, particularly targeted at young people, to uphold healthy psychological development within this community."
The total cost of her nine months at Harvard totalled £59,000, but Asiedu received an external scholarship and financial aid from the department she will study in, which left her to set up the campaign to raise the remaining £12,000 in four weeks.
But it took her less than 24 hours to meet her target, after Stormzy retweeted an appeal to him to share the campaign before adding a donation himself.
Representatives for the grime MC confirmed to Newsbeat that the donation -which was initially made under his real name, Michael Ebenazer Kwadjo Omari Owuo - was from Stormzy. His name has since been changed to be anonymous.
A supporter tweeted to Stormzy offering to take him to Nando's for a "thank you chicken", to which he replied: "Deal!"
Asiedu was vice-president of Oxford Universty's African and Carribean Society last year, which Stormzy visited in March 2016.
In a tweet stating that she had met her target, Asiedu cited one of Stormzy's lyrics ("Blinded by your grace") and shared a screenshot of the £12,000 marker.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments