A college graduate has earned his bachelor’s degree, thanks to some help from Nicki Minaj.
On Wednesday (Dec. 9), Artavion Cook took to Instagram to announce that he graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, attributing his latest accomplishment to the “Good Form” emcee.
“I can’t believe that I’m actually saying this out loud, but I am an official college GRADUATE,” he wrote. “Bachelor of Science in Biology. Chemistry and Psychology minor. This day is even more special because @NICKIMINAJ paid my tuition a few semesters ago, and today is her birthday!”
Cook is one of several students to receive financial assistance from Nicki in their pursuit of higher education — an initiative she began after a joking tweet from one of her fans.
Back in 2017, the Queens rapper announced that the fan who recorded the best Musical.ly video to her song “Regret In Your Tears” would either have the option of hanging out with her at the Billboard Music Awards or listening to some of her unreleased music in the studio.
Amid the abundance of tweets reacting to the “Anaconda” star’s contest, one Twitter user asked if she’d be willing to cover the costs of her tuition, prompting the launch of a giveaway that would help students pay for college and graduates pay off their outstanding loans.
The rapper then returned the following year with her Student of the Game scholarship fund and assisted an additional 37 fans with their college costs.
Nicki’s decision to help struggling college students has been succeeded by celebrity-funded scholarships that cater to certain demographics. Megan Thee Stallion announced that she’d partnered with Rap Rotation to award two lucky women of color with $10,000, and Travis Scott promised to cover the tuition expenses of several HBCU students for the 2020-2021 school year.