Future Leaders Student Scholarship Program
Optimum is proud to offer the Future Leaders Student Scholarship Program to dependents of eligible employees as part of our ongoing commitment to education and development.
Future Leaders Student Scholarship Program
The program is administered by Scholarship America®, the nation’s largest designer and manager of scholarships and other education support programs for corporations, foundations, associations, and individuals. Eligibility for individual programs is determined at the sole discretion of the sponsor and eligible applications are reviewed by Scholarship America’s evaluation team.
Eligibility
Applicants to the Future Leaders Student Scholarship Program must meet all the following criteria:
- Be dependent* children of full time** Optimum employees or its subsidiaries who have a minimum of six (6) months of continuous employment with the company as of the application deadline date.
- The employee must be a Sr. Director or below.
- Temporary status employees are not eligible to participate in this program.
*Dependent children are children who qualify for benefits provided by the company.
**Full-time employees are defined as working a minimum of 35 hours per week. - Be high school seniors or graduates or current college undergraduates.
- Plan to enroll in full-time undergraduate study at an accredited two- or four-year college, university or vocational-technical school (domestic or international) for the entire upcoming academic year.
- Have a minimum grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale (or its equivalent).
Awards
- If selected as a recipient, the student will receive a $2,000 award.
- Up to forty (40) awards will be granted.
- Awards are not renewable; however, students may reapply to the program each year they meet eligibility requirements.
- Recipients may receive an award no more than four years.
- Awards are for undergraduate study only.
Awards are for undergraduate study only.
Notification
Applicants will be notified in June. Not all applicants to the program will be selected as recipients.
Notifications are sent via email. When setting up your account, avoid using a school or work email. Instead, use an active, personal email address that you will continue to have access to.
Please make sure to add studentsupport@scholarshipamerica.org as well as the program email address as safe senders in your email contact list.
Payment of Scholarships
Scholarship America processes scholarship payments on behalf of Optimum. Payment is made in one installment in early August.
Selection of Recipients
Scholarship recipients are selected on the basis of:
- Academic performance
- Demonstrated leadership and participation in school and community activities
- Work experience
- A statement of educational and career goals and objectives
- Unusual personal or family circumstances
- An online recommendation
Financial need is not considered.
Scholarship America is solely responsible for selecting award recipients. In no instance does any officer or employee of Optimum and its subsidiaries play a part in the selection. All applicants agree to accept the decision as final.
Requirements
As part of your application, you must upload the following:
- A current, complete transcript of grades. Grade reports are not accepted. Transcripts must display:
- Student name
- School name
- Grades
- Credit hours for each course and term in which each course was taken.
NOTE: If you are providing SAT or ACT test scores, and those scores are not listed on your high school transcript, you will need to upload a copy of your test score report(s) separately. If you are uploading a college transcript, those scores are not required.
Your application is not complete unless all required materials are submitted electronically.
Note: The Future Leaders Student Scholarship does not apply to temporary status employees and is not available
to individuals covered by a collective bargaining agreement.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Future Leaders Student Scholarship is an employer sponsored program which awards forty (40) annual scholarships of $2,000 each to eligible employees’ dependents to help pay for tuition expenses associated with full-time undergraduate study at accredited two-year or four-year colleges, universities, or vocational/technical schools (domestic or international).
We introduced this inclusive scholarship program as part of our ongoing commitment to fostering an environment of learning, leadership, and camaraderie in the next generation of innovators, leaders, and inspiring talent. We believe that there is no better way to support our employees and build strong communities than by helping our employees’ children go to college.
Any child who is a dependent1 of a full-time2 employee is eligible to apply, as long as the following criteria are satisfied:
Employee Criteria:
- The employee must have a minimum of six (6) months of continuous service with the company prior to the application deadline date of May 11, 2026.
- Senior Director or below.
- Temporary employees are not eligible to participate in this program.
Dependent Criteria:
- The student must be a high school senior, a high school graduate, or currently pursuing postsecondary undergraduate education.
- The student must currently have a grade point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale or equivalent.
- The student must plan to enroll in full-time undergraduate study at an accredited two- or four-year college, university, or vocational/technical school (domestic or international) for the entire upcoming academic year. Full-time study is typically 12 credit hours per term.
1 A dependent is classified as a child who qualifies for benefits by the company.
2 A full-time employee is classified as working a minimum of 35 hours per week.
Scholarship America® is the largest designer and manager of scholarship and tuition reimbursement programs for corporations, foundations, associations, and individuals. The company has contracted with them to manage the program objectively and according to industry best practices.
The deadline to apply for the scholarship is May 11, 2026, at 4:00 pm EST. This is the date all applications, and supplemental materials must be received electronically.
Applicants interested in applying for the scholarship will need to complete an official application online by 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on May 11, 2026. Any required supplemental materials are to be uploaded online. Applications for the 2026-2027 school year can be submitted online through the Scholarship America Student Hub from April 8 through May 11, 2026. Applicants should click “Apply Now” above, to go to the Scholarship America Hub to create an account. Applicants may choose to submit the completed application, or to save and resume at a later time. Returning users may login with their existing credentials or proceed through the forgot user/password prompts for assistance.
Applicants will be asked to provide their contact information, parent, or guardian information (this should be the parent who meets the eligibility criteria), high school and post-secondary education data and transcript information, work experience, activities, awards and honors, goals and aspirations, and any applicable unusual personal or family circumstances. An online recommender is not required for this award.
As part of your application, you must upload a current, complete transcript of grades. Grade reports are not accepted. Unofficial or online transcripts must display student name, school name, grades and credit hours for each course and term in which each course was taken. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to
contact Scholarship America directly at 800-537-4180 before the program closes on May 11; they will work with
students who may have issues getting their transcripts.
Your application is not complete unless all required documents are submitted electronically.
Each applicant will be individually evaluated by Scholarship America®, the third-party vendor administering the program. Applications will be judged based on individual academic performance, demonstrated leadership and participation in school and community activities, work experience, statements of career and educational goals, and any unusual personal circumstances. The company will not have access to any scholarship applications or supporting documents and will not be involved in any way in selecting award recipients.
It is recommended to access and complete the online application using Firefox® or Google Chrome®. This is the Internet browser that the application site is most compatible with. If experiencing difficulty viewing the application site, applicants should try downloading Firefox® or Google Chrome® or using a computer that already has this browser installed.
Once Scholarship America® completes the review and selection process, Optimum will validate the employee/dependent relationship and the employee’s eligibility.
In June, all applicants (recipients and non-recipients) will be notified of the status of their applications by email from optimum@scholarshipamerica.org.
The program will award up to 40 scholarships for the 2026 –2027 academic year.
No.
No. Any scholarships granted are for the 2026 – 2027 academic year only and are not renewable. Eligible dependents will need to submit new applications for each subsequent academic year for which they would like to be considered for a scholarship award.
Yes. Scholarship recipients may receive up to, but not to exceed, a combined lifetime total of four (4) awards.
No. As long as the employee and his/her dependent children meet all eligibility requirements, there are no limits as to the number of children who may apply per family.
No. The check will be made payable directly to the school the recipient will be attending.
Award checks will be distributed to recipients in August 2026. Checks will be made payable to the school the recipient will be attending for the 2026-2027 academic year and mailed to the recipient’s permanent home address. All checks will be in U.S. currency only.
Yes. The scholarship may only be used during the academic year in which it was awarded for tuition, enrollment fees or course-related expenses.
No. There are no restrictions as to the courses of study for which scholarships are available.
The applicant may still apply for a scholarship, as long as both employee and dependent meet all eligibility criteria.
The scholarship recipient may use the funds granted according to the program criteria through the end of the academic year
No. The terms of the scholarship do not include any commitments, understandings, or obligations of future employment by the company. The scholarship is intended for the sole personal educational benefit of the recipient.
All questions relating to the program can be addressed to Scholarship America at: optimum@scholarshipamerica.org or phone Scholarship America® at 1-800-537-4180 and ask for the Future Leaders Student Scholarship.
