SOE G.I.R.L. Competition Awards $10,000 Scholarship

Sony Online Entertainment's Gamers In Real Life design competition has awarded a 10-week paid internship and $10,000 scholarship to Art Center College of Design student Sylvia Liu, to help in her pursuit of a creative arts career. Liu's application for the G.I.R.L. scholarship, which aims to bring more women into the creative arts and eventually bring more women-friendly games to market, included concept art for a new EverQuest II environment and a new EverQuest II boss character. While the official competition rules do not preclude male entrants, so far all three winners have been female. Each finalist was required to submit two pieces of concept art and a 500-word essay, which were judged by a panel of SOE employees. "I feel so happy and honored to be chosen as the winner this year," said Liu in a statement. "I worked hard on my submission and am very proud of what I accomplished for this competition. This opportunity will help me a long way in my career so I can't wait to get started!" "It has always been my passion to design new visual ideas and tell stories through my artwork for others to enjoy," she said in an official Q&A. Julia Brasil, the winner of the inaugural 2008 scholarship, was given a scholarship at SOE's Seattle office, and has remained with that studio since then.