Daybreak Game Company LLC today announced two winners of its 2015 Gamers in Real Life (G.I.R.L.) Scholarship — Grace Kim of Aurora, Colo., and Cherylynn Lima of Brentwood, Calif. Now in its eighth year, the G.I.R.L Scholarship was expanded this year to honor students in two categories: Art & Design and Programming & Engineering. Daybreak Games established the scholarship program to encourage college students to pursue careers in the video game industry.
Grace Kim is currently enrolled at Laguna College of Art and Design (Laguna Beach, Calif.), and Cherylynn Lima attends Smith College in Northampton, Mass. Both winners have been awarded a $5,000 scholarship to be applied towards tuition, room and board, and other educational expenses. In addition to the scholarship, both students are participating in a 10-week internship at Daybreak Games’ headquarters in San Diego this summer, where they’re receiving hands-on experience working on the company’s newest zombie survival game, H1Z1.
Daybreak saw an incredible amount of talented applicants this year, with submissions from students at universities throughout the United States. As part of the competition, finalists were asked to submit either two pieces of original concept art inspired by either PlanetSide 2 or the EverQuest franchise or code for an original game feature for one of Daybreak’s games, along with an essay about why they want to work in the video game industry, and how their unique perspective and imagination will contribute to the future of gaming. The submissions were reviewed by a panel of judges and executives from Daybreak Game Company.
“We are thrilled to expand this year’s G.I.R.L. program by honoring two talented students with educational scholarships and paid summer internships,” said Laura Naviaux, Chief Publishing Officer, Daybreak Games. “Both winners truly embraced our G.I.R.L. program goals through their essays, original concept art, and code base for an original game feature. We are proud to have them represent this year’s program and provide them with opportunities in the gaming industry.”