Irving Innovation Award Spotlight: T-Mobile Scholars

On September 23, Scholarship America will once again be presenting the Irving Innovation Awards, honoring organizations that have reimagined what it means to support students, providing financial assistance and creating holistic opportunities for personal and professional growth.

These awards reflect the vision of organization founder Dr. Irving Fradkin, whose pioneering work in establishing community-based scholarships has grown into a nationwide movement—and made Scholarship America the nation’s largest administrator of scholarships, with $6 billion distributed to students since our founding.

As we lead up to the Irving Innovation Awards gala in Washington, DC, we’re proud to spotlight the award winners here. Today, we’re spotlighting the T-Mobile Scholars Program. This newly established award recognizes academic achievement, leadership, and potential; reinforces T-Mobile’s culture of support; and creates lasting impact for families and communities.

To learn more, we sat down with Kate Blaylock, Senior Director, Employee Benefits at T-Mobile US, Inc.

How do you and your team work with the T-Mobile Scholars program?

My team and I manage all employee benefit programs, including getting to launch new impactful benefits intended to make a difference in the lives of our employees and their families.

T-Mobile partnered with Scholarship America to launch T-Mobile Scholars, a college tuition scholarship program for employees’ children. Scholarship America’s expertise in administering programs at scale made them the ideal partner—we brought the vision and commitment, they brought the infrastructure to execute.

Together, we awarded 10 full-tuition scholarships, renewable for up to four years, and 100 one-time scholarships. Their independent selection process lends the program the credibility our employees trust. On our end, we promote it through our Live Magenta benefits platform and treat it as a program we’ll continue to grow and evolve alongside Scholarship America as we learn what’s working.

Why does T-Mobile US feel it’s so important to invest in scholarships?

At T-Mobile, we believe in supporting our employees at every stage of life and that extends to their families. We already offer tuition assistance that nearly 6,000–7,000 of our own employees use each year, and we’ve seen firsthand the power of helping someone achieve a degree they never thought possible. T-Mobile Scholars grew directly from that — a recognition that we could do more. Our responsibility doesn’t stop at our employees. It extends to the next generation. Scholarships like this open doors for students who may not otherwise have a path to higher education, and that matters — not just for those families, but for communities and for the future workforce across every field.

This is also consistent with how we approach our broader community investment, giving is a big part of our Magenta Culture. Each year during the entire month of April, teams across the company come together to support causes they care most about. Employees are working alongside partners like Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Food Lifeline, Harvesters and The American Red Cross, packing STEM kits, sorting food and essentials and even supporting blood drives. It’s a great example of how our teams show up in the communities where we live and work.

How does the T-Mobile Scholars Program fit in with your broader CSR/mission initiatives?

Giving and philanthropy is a big part of our Magenta Culture. In 2025, T-Mobile and the T-Mobile Foundation donated $38.2 million to nonprofits nationwide, with employees contributing an additional $2.4 million and 92,000 volunteer hours across nearly 19,000 organizations.  And every April during our Magenta Giving Month, teams across the company come together to support the causes they care most about.

Our flagship Project 10Million initiative provides free internet and hotspots to eligible K–12 families. By end of 2025, we’d connected nearly 6.7 million students and delivered $8.3 billion in in-kind support — because students without connectivity risk falling behind before they even get started.

What led you to partner with Scholarship America for the administration of the scholarship?

Running a scholarship program is complex, and we knew we needed outside expertise to build and administer it the right way. As the largest scholarship administrator in the U.S., Scholarship America had the knowledge, administrative capabilities, and hard-earned wisdom to support a program at our scale.

How do you think the T-Mobile Scholars Program is impacting the next generation of students and/or future workforce?

Education is the unlock that builds and supports our communities, drives innovation, broadens minds, and can help create strong futures. T-Mobile Scholars helps make that possible for more people from many different walks of life, bringing different voices and lived experiences to their areas of study. How powerful!

How do you see your program evolving and developing in the coming years?

This was our first year and we made the best decisions we could for our inaugural launch, but we also learned a lot along the way. From a big picture perspective, we will explore how we can expand the program. Tactically, we identified meaningful ways to better support parents during this process,  increase the program’s visibility, and make T-Mobile Scholars something employees look forward to every year.

What advice would you give to applicants?

Bring your full authentic self to your scholarship application and to your next stage of life. This is your story, your life,  your future. What makes you different and unique is where you’ll find your magic. Too often we try to soften our edges or conform to how others present themselves, but that only goes so far. Showing up authentically will serve you well now and throughout your career.

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Our thanks to Kate and the team at T-Mobile US for their time, and congratulations on the award! To learn more about the Irving Innovation Awards and find out how you can be a part of the celebration, visit the event website here.