Charlotte, N.C./March 13, 2023 – On Sunday, the Esports and Gaming Management Program at Johnson C. Smith University received one of the Hornets Venom GT Scholarships totaling $10,000.
The Charlotte Hornets Foundation and Hornets Venom GT, the official NBA 2K League affiliate of the Charlotte Hornets, presented the check to Adjunct Professor John Cash and Dr. BerNadette Lawson- Williams, professor of Sport Management and advisor and founder of the Esports and Gaming Management Program.
"As Founder and Coordinator of JCSU's Esports and Gaming Trifecta, the first at an HBCU, I am ecstatic that our program was selected as the recipient of this prestigious award,” said Lawson-Williams. “We immensely appreciate the support that our partners, the Charlotte Hornets Foundation and the Hornets Venom GT, have provided our program over the years”
“Our organization has a long-standing relationship with Johnson C. Smith University, and we are proud to support their innovative Esports & Gaming Management program in many ways throughout the year,” added Charlotte Hornets Foundation Executive Director Betsy Mack. “Our goal this year in awarding the annual Hornets Venom GT Scholarship to the overall Esports & Gaming Management program is to help support all of the program’s current and future students rather than just one.”
Lawson-Williams said the donation will be used to fund professional development activities, experiential learning endeavors and other programmatic initiatives that will benefit gamer-scholars as well as Esports and Gaming program faculty and staff.
The first Hornets Venom GT Scholarship was awarded in 2020-21 to Charlotte-area high school students who were interested in pursing a degree in STEM-related fields. In 2021-22, the focus shifted to JCSU’s Esports and Gaming Management program, and a second scholarship went to Eric Darcey Flowe ’22 who was majoring in Sport Management and minoring in Esports and Gaming Management.
For more information about Esports and Gaming at Johnson C. Smith University, contact Lawson-Williams at blwilliams@jcsu.edu.