Best Buy is empowering the next generation of Hollywood producers, script writers and filmmakers by supporting young people from disinvested communities across Los Angeles county.
We have partnered with The Hollywood Reporter to provide a full scholarship to Loyola Marymount University to a mentee in the publication’s acclaimed Women in Entertainment Mentorship Program (WIE). In addition, program participants will have access to the Los Angeles Community Impact Hub, a network of up to 12 Best Buy Teen Tech Centers® that provide access to cutting-edge technology and career training opportunities.
“Best Buy Teen Tech Centers have proved time and again the valuable role that a mentor plays in a young person’s life,” said Andrea Wood, Best Buy’s vice president of social impact. “This partnership is the perfect way to ensure those life-changing relationships are also creating meaningful opportunities in the creative economy for youth from disinvested communities.”
And the scholarship goes to…
The scholarship was presented to a senior at Kennedy High School by Jamie Lee Curtis and Janelle Monáe at The Hollywood Reporter’s annual Women in Entertainment gala in Los Angeles. The star-studded event brought together leading women in entertainment to further inspire women across the industry. The Los Angeles Community Impact Hub will also provide a pipeline of future mentees for the mentorship Program with the program open to Best Buy Teen Tech Center members annually.
“We’re also incredibly grateful to Best Buy’s contribution to the Women in Entertainment Mentorship Program,” said Nekesa Mumbi Moody, The Hollywood Reporter’s editorial director. “Because of their support, so many young women will be able to achieve their dreams and help shape the future of both our industry and our world for the better.”
For more than a decade, the Women in Entertainment initiative has been connecting high school girls in Los Angeles with mentorship, scholarships and technology tools to succeed in the next chapter of their lives. The program has given over $12 million in scholarships and has paired hundreds of local high school students from some of the most underserved schools in Los Angeles with top-level women mentors in film, television and music.
About Teen Tech Centers
Best Buy Teen Tech Centers, a program of the Best Buy Foundation, provide a safe space for youth to create, learn and explore using the latest cutting-edge technology with the support of peers and adult mentors. At each center, members develop skills for the tech-reliant jobs of the future through hands-on activities in photography, augmented and virtual reality, 3-D design and more.
More than 50 Teen Tech Centers are operating nationwide, and Best Buy has a goal to support 100 by 2025.
To learn more about Best Buy Teen Tech Centers®, visit bestbuy.com/teentechcenter.