Disney donates $500,000 towards scholarship for AAPI students

Auli'i Cravalho and Neil Horikoshi hold the check from Disney.

THE WALT DISNEY Company announced that they will be making a $500,000 commitment to the Asian & Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund (APIASF) which will go toward supporting high-achieving Asian and Pacific Islander college students. 

These funds will provide 150 scholarships to students over the course of three years starting with the fall 2017 semester. Auli‘i Cravalho, who voices the title character in Disney's animated film Moana, made the announcement at an APIASF gala along with Disney executives and APIASF President and Executive Director Neil Horikoshi.

“Disney is proud to support young Asian and Pacific Islander leaders in achieving their dreams of a higher education. By giving these promising students the resources and tools they need to earn a college degree, we enable them to create a better, brighter future for us all,” said Disney’s chief diversity officer Paul Richardson.  

“Speaking on behalf of Auli‘i and all of us at Disney Animation, we are extremely honored to be part of this important scholarship commitment," said producer Osnat Shurer. "We thank APIASF for their extraordinary work and Disney for its support of these initiatives.”

“The Walt Disney Company’s generous support will make a significant difference for some of the nation’s most underserved students,” Horikoshi said. “With many Asian American and Pacific Islander families facing financial barriers, The Walt Disney Company/APIASF Scholarship has the potential to be life-changing for students.”

The Walt Disney Company/APIASF Scholarship will be available for the 2017-2018 school year. In order to be eligible, applicants must:

• Be of Asian and/or Pacific Islander ethnicity, as defined by the U.S. Census;
• Be a citizen, national or legal permanent resident of the United States (citizens of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Palau are also eligible to apply);
• Be enrolling in a U.S.-accredited college or university as a full-time, degree-seeking, first-year student in the 2017-2018 academic year; 
• Have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.7 on a 4.0 scale (unweighted) or have earned a GED and
• Apply for federal financial aid using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by February 1, 2017.

Based in Washington, D.C., APIASF is the nation's largest nonprofit organization devoted to providing college scholarships for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) and developing their leadership skills. For details about APIASF and the new scholarship, visit APIASF's website at www.apiasf.org.