Stormzy was elected an Honorary Fellow of Jesus College Cambridge Stormzy

Popular musician and philanthropist Stormzy has been elected an honorary fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge University.

The 32-year-old, whose full name is Michael Ebenezer Kwadjo Omari Owo Junior, was nominated in recognition of his cultural influence and charitable work, after he launched the Stormzy Scholarship at the university in 2018.

It is the second award Stormzy has received from Cambridge. In June, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree for the scholarship programme, which funds black students in the UK to study at the prestigious university.

So far, 68 students have been supported through the scholarship programme, powered by the #Merky Foundation, and 2025 will be the largest group to date, according to Cambridge.

“Stormzy is a remarkable storyteller, a creative mind, and an advocate for social change,” said Sunita Allen, Jesus College professor. “His cultural impact is enormous. We share many values, including supporting students from disadvantaged backgrounds to realize their potential, tackling inequality and using the arts as a force for good.”

“With him joining the college, we believe he will inspire our current and future students and enrich our community.”

One of four siblings who was raised in south London by his Ghanaian mother, a devout Christian, he rose to fame a decade ago after the success of his freestyle Shut Up.

He’s reached the top of the album and singles charts time and time again since then, while achieving fame outside of music for using his influence to advocate for social justice.

In 2020, he founded the #Merky Foundation, pledging £10 million over 10 years to support racial equality and justice reform organisations.

He branched out into the world of sports, launching #Merky FC in collaboration with Adidas in 2022 to support black talent off the pitch in football. It is headquartered in his hometown of Croydon, south London.

Besides music, Stormzy’s projects span publishing, theater and filmmaking.

In 2022, he received an honorary degree from the University of Exeter “in recognition of his distinguished achievements in the field of higher education, charitable work, and expanding participation.”

Stormzy has been elected as a Fellow of Jesus College alongside Julia Longbottom, a Jesus alumna and British Ambassador to Japan since 2021 – the first woman to hold the position.

Before becoming Ambassador to Japan, Longbottom was then Director of Global Consular Services at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. In 2020, she established and managed the Ministry’s International Coronavirus Task Force.