“I broadcast on Twitch, and (the scholarship) was in a newsletter,” Revard said. “It was one of those things where it was like, ‘We’re doing a scholarship with Alienware. If anyone meets the requirements, feel free to submit.’ So that’s how I found out about it.”

Matthew DiPietro , the vice president of marketing for Twitch, said the scholarship is an important thing to do to give opportunities in the eclectic career field.

“The scholarship is intended to support student gamers,” DiPietro said. “It often is the case that while gaming is a very serious pursuit to a lot of people, I think a lot of people feel a tension between their academic and gaming life. The whole point here is to help support that gaming itself is a profession and is something that has grown way beyond its original borders as a solitary entertaining pastime.”

DiPietro said after receiving hundreds of applicants, the committee chose five students to receive the scholarship, including Revard.

“It is something that touches everything now — in business, in culture (and) even in academics,” DiPietro said. “There are all sorts of different things that gaming touches, and we want to make sure that students can pursue both of their passions.

This passion was something Revard experienced from the very beginning.

“It’s something he’s wanted to do for a very long time, ever since I can remember,” Revard’s sister, Jessica Revard. said. “In fact, I can remember him as young as 3, fighting for the computer to play a game on there. He has the skill, the drive and the knowledge, and I think they’re recognizing it, and that’s why he got the award.”

But getting the scholarship wasn’t easy. Some of the requirements included a minimum 3.0 grade-point average in high school, top tournament placements, regular involvement in games and gaming groups and high in-game ranks. Ultimately, Revard was chosen.

“I was chosen because on Twitch, I have been around since the beginning,” Revard said. “It used to actually be called justin.tv, and I have been around since then. So I think that helped. And I’m a video game design student, so I think that was another big thing in my favor for receiving the award.”

Jessica Revard said this relationship goes beyond occasional broadcasting.

“He has been a broadcaster on there for years, and he has a huge fan base following him,” Revard said. “I never realized how huge until about two years ago when I went on there to watch him broadcast himself playing video games and was just floored that he has fans. I remember him playing video games when he was 5 years old, and thinking, ‘Oh, it’s just a hobby,’ and so now I see that it’s something more than that, and when he applied for the award, they saw that too.”
After applying the scholarship to his education at MSU, Revard is set to graduate in 2013 and begin his career in video game design.

“What could he not accomplish?” Jessica Revard said. “He’s very creative and passionate about what he does, and so the sky is the limit for him.”

DiPietro said he hopes to make the scholarship an annual contest in the future because of the success of its first year.