The first graduating class at LeBron James’ I Promise School received the surprise of a lifetime on Wednesday (Feb. 12). The group of 11th graders were awarded with four-year college scholarships to Kent State University and a year of free housing.
A heartwarming video posted on the LeBron James Foundation’s Twitter page shows the 193 high school juniors erupting with joy after being told about the free tuition. The scholarships will go into effect during the 2021-2022 academic year.
The students were attending what they thought was a typical academic outing to the Ohio university when they were told to look underneath their chairs to find envelopes revealing the scholarship surprise.
When you show up to @KentState for your 11th grade experience outing, but find out you’re also getting FREE tuition for 4 years AND a year of free room & board‼️ 😱😭 pic.twitter.com/udCrl95qFi
— LeBron James Family Foundation (@LJFamFoundation) February 12, 2020
In order to qualify, students must be admitted to Kent State, complete financial aid forms and finish a required amount of community service hours every semester, according to Cleveland.com.
Located in James’ hometown of Akron, Ohio, the I Promise School is the 35-year-old athlete’s way of giving back to the very community that helped raise him. The school, which opened in 2018, will reportedly be the focus of a documentary chronicling its opening year.