ASU student wins "Selfie Scholarship"

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - There are so many college scholarships out there, including a "selfie scholarship", where all an applicant has to do is to take a selfie photo of themselves, positioned as a future business owner.

The winning entry of this unique scholarship received a $10,000 scholarship, and the lucky recipient lives in the Valley.

Kiana Anaya applied to the "#myfutureselfie" scholarship, not expecting to hear back. Little did she know, however, her entry was an instant hit.

"I think one of the most daunting things, when it comes to coming to college, is thinking about how you are going to afford it," said Anaya. "So, that was kinda my ambition, was looking for ways that I could apply for money to afford my undergrad."

Anaya did what did what many college students would do. She applied to various scholarships, in hopes to receive some funding for her education. She came across the a scholarship opportunity offered by the consulting company Frannet.

"Personally, I didn't really think I stood a chance necessarily, but I still applied for it," said Anaya. "I got excited, and it was so different then anything I had seen, in terms of what the application process was like."

The application process involved snapping a selfie photo, positioning the applicant to accentuate themselves as a future entrepreneur, and using the hashtag "#myfutureselfie".

After a couple of months, Anaya received the call.

"As soon as I found out, I called my mom," said Anaya.

Anaya beamed with excitement, as she spoke about winning the $10,000 scholarship. John Blair with Frannet said he received almost 500 entries, but Kiana's photo just stood out.

"We couldn't have gone through an interview process and found a better person," said Blair. "It just happened we identified her. Her picture jumped off the page to us. She lit up."

Anaya is majoring in Global Health, and plans to be a dentist one day with her own office. She said she wants to be an example to girls in science-related fields.

"Being a women in this day and age can get complicated, especially when you are going into STEM fields, which is a predominantly male field," said Anaya. "So, I encourage all the young ladies out there to seek going into STEM, even though it can be daunting."

Frannet's first scholarship competition was extremely successful, and they plan on doing it again. Blair said they want to continue to empower the next generation of entrepreneurs.