DJ Khaled helps BET Networks, Get Schooled motivate college-bound students and uplift HBCUs

It’s always great when historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and students who desire a college education can get a little love. BET Networks and Get Schooled were recently recognized for their efforts to motivate college-bound high schoolers and raising awareness of HBCUs through Snapchat.

On March 2, the 2017 Social Good Awards, hosted by Cynopsis Media, a company that handles six free trade publications for television, media, digital and sports, named BET Networks and Get Schooled the winners in the Digital Media Campaign category. In the campaign, the partners focused on a digital marketing plan that would improve the lives of African-American high school and college students while elevating the value of HBCUs.

“HBCUs play a critical role in allowing more African-American students to access and complete a college degree,” Nneka Norville, BET Networks’ director of corporate social responsibility, said in a statement. “BET Networks is honored that our groundbreaking work with Get Schooled has been recognized by Cynopsis Media.”

BET Networks and Get Schooled chose the social media app Snapchat and enlisted the help of record producer DJ Khaled to spread the message, which reached an audience of more than 300,000.

Get Schooled is a national nonprofit organization that uses technology, social media platforms and pop culture to engage millennials and encourage high school students preparing for college. The partnership between BET and Get Schooled is continuing. For BET’s Next Level campaign, a digital badge has been created to allow students to immerse themselves in the HBCU experience. So far, that campaign has reached more than 500,000 high school students, with 1,000 of them earning the digital badge.