Alicia Crawford, a game and art design student at the Inland Empire’s Art Institute of California, was recently selected as the winner of the fourth annual competition that Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) hosts for female competitors from around the world. The scholarship, Gamers in Real Life (G.I.R.L.), was created in the hopes it would get more women involved in the creation of video games. It is a $10,000 scholarship that can be used towards tuition and education expenses.

In addition to the scholarship, Alicia has also been offered a 10-week paid internship at the San Diego office of SOE, an excellent opportunity for any aspiring game designer or game artist. Crawford had the following to say:

“It’s such an honor to be recognized for my work by a major video game publisher and I’m extremely thankful to SOE for this opportunity,” said Crawford.”Winning the G.I.R.L. scholarship fuels my desire to work in the gaming industry and my existing passion for video games.”

The entrants into the competition had to submit two pieces of original concept art (in the theme of one of two games, Free Realms or EverQuest II) and an essay about their views about women in the gaming industry. You can view Alicia’s two winning pieces of art below. For more information on the scholarship, visit the official G.I.R.L. website.