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Malaysian model and influencer, Ms Puiyi, also known as Siew Pui Yi, announced in an Instagram post on Feb. 14 that she will be offering US$1 million worth of scholarships to underprivileged students.

Wish to give back to society

"Not everyone is given equal opportunities and there are so many people I know that could have gone so far if they had the financial help when they were younger," Siew said in her Instagram post.

She shared her own experience of giving up her dream to be a surgeon because of insufficient funds, and that various scholarships she applied to were unable to reply to her in time.

Siew ended up pursuing a degree in business while working part-time jobs as a model. She added that she could not eat proper meals and barely had enough sleep while doing so.

Now that she is able to make a difference, Siew announced she wished to give back to society by setting up a scholarship for underprivileged students.

Who is eligible?

Ms Puiyi's scholarship fund is apparently available for underprivileged students from all over the world.

Partnering with Educapital Foundation, Siew will be giving US$1,000 (S$1,300) for eligible students to pursue the education field they desire.

With a US$1 million fund, she could potentially fund up to 1,000 students.

The application process involves applicants revealing the field of study being pursued, which ranges from more traditional courses, such as human resources, influencer marketing and medical assistant.

However, the application process allows applicants to list more unorthodox courses of study, such as cannabis culinary, budtender, and business of cannabis.

While studying, students will have access to financial hardship grants and business startup grants upon graduation.

"This has always been something that I wished to hopefully make a difference," Siew said, "to give equal opportunities to deserving students that can’t afford the education they need to succeed."

Parameters of scholarship are unclear

However, the parameters of Ms Puiyi's scholarship fund are unclear.

For instance, it is not known how an applicant is deemed eligible for the scholarship.

Moreover, one of the questions asked during the application is whether the applicant is a veteran of the U.S. armed forces.

This is understood to be a legacy criterion in the U.S., where those who served in the military are granted certain privileges when applying for educational opportunities.

The application also states that the scholarship is valid for only 30 days.

It also remains to be seen how the funds are disbursed.

Top image via ms_puiyi/Instagram and mspuiyischolarship.com