Grey’s Anatomy actor brings star power to app that connects students to scholarships
You probably know Jesse Williams for his role as Dr. Jackson Avery on Grey’s Anatomy or remember his impassioned speech at the BET Awards in June while receiving the 2016 Humanitarian Award. But most don’t know that before he was a star, he was a public high school teacher in Philadelphia for six years.
So when Williams, an avid fan of ABC’s “Shark Tank,” saw 24-year-old Christopher Gray pitch his app Scholly on the show, his interest was immediately piqued. Scholly directly pairs students with scholarships that they’re eligible to receive. The company has matched students with more than $50 million in scholarship funds since launching in 2014.
“I was really blown away. It really struck a chord with me because finances were a big part of whether or not I was going to make it into college,” Williams told Yahoo Finance. “And throughout my college experience, it was a source of a lot of stress and strain and work study and worrying about whether I’m going to be able to afford the next semester and a lot of scrambling. So [Scholly] seemed really important and impactful.”
On Wednesday, Williams joined the Scholly team as chief brand ambassador. Because of both his experience growing up in underfunded public school systems as well as teaching bright students who didn’t have the access or resources to pursue college, Williams says he and Scholly were a natural fit. As a member of Scholly’s board of directors, Williams will get equity in the company.
“I desperately wish that [Scholly existed when I was in school]. I was constantly kicking and scraping. Books cost a lot of money, figuring out my housing issues, having to do a work study, I had to work as a telemarketer for five bucks an hour. Getting into school is one thing, and then it’s another thing to be able to focus on your schoolwork and not worry about how you’re going to pay for the next semester,” he says.
Gray says that Williams’ storied background is closely aligned with Scholly’s mission to understand “the plight of those struggling to pay for college and why it’s vital to help them.” Gray himself was raised by a single mother in Birmingham, Alabama, and received $1.3 million in scholarships (which covered his four years at Philadelphia’s Drexel University, with the rest to be redeemed if he decides to pursue a Master’s and/or PhD).
Gray landed a $40,000 deal on “Shark Tank” from Lori Greiner and Daymond John. Scholly has since received $100,000 for winning last year’s “Rise of the Rest” business pitch competition hosted by AOL founder Steve Case and a $100,000 investment from StartUP PHL, an angel fund run by venture capitalist Josh Kopelman. The Scholly app was initially free to download but now costs $2.99 to access the platform.
Scholarships in Scholly’s database are both need- and merit-based. The app narrows down your search with eight parameters (e.g., the state you live in, your GPA, your race). When making a profile, there’s even a section titled “miscellaneous” in case there are other traits or qualities you may want to list, like being a vegetarian or left-handed.
Williams says he feels it’s his job as an educator and activist to make things like higher learning attainable. “I want to show there’s a multitude of options for you going forward.”
Just as Scholly has harnessed technology to help students find money for college, Williams says the wide range of scholarships gives students the ability to broaden their horizons and think creatively about the kinds of professions they can pursue.
“Business is about finding a need and finding a solution,” Williams says. “[We want to] put kids in a position to be literate and understand the vocabulary of tech and to be able to marry that with their own vision. We’re focused on establishing a nice long runway for kids to be able to make a future for themselves creatively.” Most students in school right now will have jobs that might not even exist yet, he adds.
“What Chris Gray did so wonderfully was he found out that there are millions and millions of dollars that are unclaimed every year in scholarships and figured out a way to bridge that divide between the money and the people who desperately need it,” he says.
Melody Hahm is a writer & reporter at Yahoo Finance, covering entrepreneurship, innovation and technology. Follow her on Twitter.
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