Jelly Roll has once again used his platform to support those in need, and this time, he is helping someone afford to go to college.
During a concert in downtown Nashville on June 17, Jelly Roll noticed a young woman in the audience holding up a message on her phone that read, “Please pay my tuition.” He immediately responded from the stage, saying, “We’re gonna talk about what college you go to, what your GPA is, and if all of that checks out, we will help you get through school.”
Following the concert, a member of Jelly Roll’s team met with the woman to learn more about her situation.
The woman was identified as Joy Gadalla, an 18-year-old who had waited in line for about five hours to see Jelly Roll perform for free, according to Nashville’s News Channel 2 WKRN. She described the concert as a much-needed break after caring for her grandmother in the hospital the previous month.
It turns out that Gadalla is a first-generation Egyptian immigrant from Antioch, Tennessee, the same area where Jelly Roll grew up. After experiencing bullying in seventh grade, she switched to online schooling and graduated with a 3.8 GPA.
Inspired by Jelly Roll’s music and personal journey, Gadalla decided to enroll at Belmont University in Nashville, where she planned to study criminal justice and become a lawyer. She also mentioned that Jelly Roll’s influence helped her stop drinking, and she was one year and seven months sober at the time of the concert.
Gadalla also noted that holding up the sign was an unplanned decision. “I took like a black picture and then wrote, ‘Please pay my tuition,’ and just held it up,” she said.
Jelly Roll saw her sign after his first song and told her from the stage, “I’m going to give you the opportunity to change your life right here on this date,” pointing directly at her.
“I was just in shock, in incredible shock,” she said.
Watch Jelly Roll offer to help pay a fans tuition in the video below.