SW New Mexico News

The Skechers Foundation has announced it will grant $200,000 in scholarships to support 40 graduating high school seniors. The scholarship program includes four distinct categories: the SKECHERS Financial Hardship Scholarship, the SKECHERS Academic Excellence Scholarship, the SKECHERS Promising Leaders Scholarship, and the SKECHERS Athletic Performance Scholarship.

Eligible applicants for these scholarships are high school seniors with at least a 3.0 GPA who plan to attend an accredited college, university, technical, or vocational education program. Additionally, some scholarships have specific eligibility requirements.

"Students must demonstrate financial need," states the criteria for the SKECHERS Financial Hardship Scholarship. For the SKECHERS Academic Excellence Scholarship, applicants must be "high school seniors and U.S. citizens" with a minimum GPA of 3.0. The SKECHERS Promising Leaders Scholarship seeks students with a "track record of leadership in their community or school," while the SKECHERS Athletic Performance Scholarship requires that students "have played a sport in high school and plan on participating in that sport in college."

Applications for the scholarships can be submitted through the Scholarships360 profile, with an April 30, 2025 deadline. Essays and short answers are part of the application, and there's an optional "additional information" section for students to share personal experiences impacting their high school experience.

According to the selection process, "The scholarship committee will be considering a variety of criteria, including academic performance, essay responses, and financial need." Though students can apply to all four scholarships, they can only receive one. "Only U.S. Citizens can apply for the Skechers scholarships," is stipulated, with the winners to be announced by June 3, 2025.

Students are encouraged to fill out an optional personal statement, explaining extenuating circumstances that may have affected their high school performance, covering aspects such as "providing childcare for a sibling," "working to help support your family," or experiencing "illness in the immediate family."

The SKECHERS Financial Hardship, Academic Excellence, Promising Leaders, and Athletic Performance Scholarships each offer ten winners $5,000. Detailed information and application steps are available on the Scholarships360 website.

Contact information for further inquiries includes Zach Skillings at zach@scholarships360.org.