To sponsor you must:

• Be currently employed by a participating UNITE HERE Local 23 partner employer
• Have had contributions paid into STEP Fund for at least 12 months out of the last 18 months by your contributing employer
• Work for an employer that contributes to the training fund

All new applicants must be 21 or under, and are either:

• A high school senior with a GPA of 3.0 or higher, or, a recent GED student with a B average
• A university student with a GPA of 2.7 or higher

Scholarship winners may receive up to 3 annual renewal awards, for a total of 4 academic years (8 semesters) of support. All awards must be made within a 6-year period. You are eligible for a renewal if you won a previous scholarship and you:

• Have a sponsor who meets the criteria eligibility above
• Have maintained a college GPA of 2.7 or better. (Exceptions may be made. (Contact us for details)
• Are under the age of 26

Yes. The committee does look at special circumstances. You should include a letter with your application to explain a lower GPA and how your plans to improve.

No. This is a competition.

Yes, you can reapply the following year!

Students must enroll for at least a ½ credit load per their university’s assessment of full time study for each semester they receive the award. Individual awards are pro-rated based on credit load, with the maximum amount available only to full-time students.

• The scholarship is for tuition and related fees only
• Your university or college must be an accredited not-for profit 2- or 4-year college or university. (Exceptions are made on a case by case basis for accredited postsecondary for-profit schools. Please contact us.)
• Payment goes directly to the university only—no reimbursements or payments are made to students or their families

This is a year-long scholarship with applications accepted once a year in June. Disbursements are made for the semester, so you must submit an invoice for each semester being covered.

The maximum you can receive is $2000 per semester for a total of $4000 per year. We take into consideration whether other awards you receive can be applied to other expenses, such as costs of living, books, meal plans, etc. Your award may be reduced based on this.

All applications that are submitted by the deadline are assessed by a scholarship committee composed of current or past professors, teachers, and academics.

Don’t wait until the last minute to ask your teacher for a letter! Your teacher should email a recommendation letter directly to the scholarship coordinator, and if possible send it from a work email address. DO NOT cut and paste the letter or send it yourself. Please see the instructions with the application.

You can ask the director to have the committee review its decision. You may be asked to submit additional documentation that might help the committee.