(above) Brooke Gallo is one of twenty students nationwide awarded a scholarship in the ninth annual Foot Locker Scholar Athletes Program for Leadership On and Off the Field.
Foot Locker Awards Brooke Gallo $20,000 Scholarship
Submitted by Foot Locker Scholar Athletes Team
Arthur L. Johnson High School graduate Brooke Gallo was awarded $20,000 by Foot Locker as part of the Foot Locker Scholar Athletes Program that annually recognizes 20 students nationwide for exceptional leadership in the classroom and community, as well as for achievements in sports.
Across the country, school closures continue to impact millions of students, parents, and families, including student-athletes who are no longer able to experience the moments they’ve dreamed about and worked toward. On May 21, Brooke Gallo and other selected finalists joined a virtual discussion, facilitated by content creator and media personality Tony Mui, to connect with one another about how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting their lives and communities. The robust discussion explored how students are coping, and provided an opportunity for them to share words of advice to their fellow high school seniors.
The finalists were then surprised with a celebratory reveal by NBA player Collin Sexton, who announced that they were all actually winners of the 2019/2020 Foot Locker Scholar Athletes Scholarship. “I know it’s been tough for high school seniors everywhere, who have had to miss out on major milestones,” said the Cleveland Cavaliers guard. “I’m honored to team up with Foot Locker to help reward these student athletes for all of their hard work and dedication, especially during this time.” View the virtual discussion on Foot Locker’s YouTube channel.
Recognized for her academic excellence and strong leadership skills both in sports and within her community, Brooke Gallo joined the program’s eight previous classes of Foot Locker Scholar Athletes, which represents 180 total scholarship recipients since the program’s inception in 2011, to pursue their college educations. During a time when the majority of students agree financial aid will be necessary for them to pay for college, and when families are facing more uncertainty about their economic futures than ever before, the Foot Locker Foundation continues to support college accessibility and affordability for outstanding student athletes through its Foot Locker Scholar Athletes Program for the ninth consecutive year. These game-changers serve as role models today who will go on to positively impact tomorrow through their sheer determination and passion.
“In these unprecedented and challenging times, we’re more committed than ever to supporting and empowering young people to pursue their dreams and attend college,” states Richard A. Johnson, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Foot Locker, Inc. “The Foot Locker Scholar Athletes program continues to be an important platform to celebrate some of the most talented and exceptional young scholar athletes across the country, who are making a tremendous impact within their communities.”
About Brooke Gallo
A former cross-country runner, Brooke Gallo was diagnosed in her freshman year with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, a rare and painful disorder that ended her running career early. Instead of letting the disability define her, she turned her energy and passion into amassing over 500 community service hours each year of high school. Her experience with her disability led her to create a Unified Sports Team at her school to bring athletes with and without intellectual disabilities together on the same team to compete. She was also elected as the school district liaison for Special Olympics. In addition to leading the Unified Sports team, Brooke is also the captain of her varsity tennis team, a member of the varsity swimming team, and the Lieutenant Governor for New Jersey District for Key Club. A 3.7 GPA student, Brooke will attend Nova Southeastern University’s speech pathology program and plans to help the university develop a Unified Sports Program of its own.
The availability of scholarship programs, such as the Foot Locker Scholar Athletes Program, can make a real difference in the affordability of a college education. With the 2020 Class, the Foot Locker Foundation will have invested more than $3 million in the education and future of some of America’s most promising scholar athletes. Supporting this all-star program is Fastweb, a trusted scholarship and financial aid resource used by students and some of the scholarship winners to help find opportunities to pay for school.
To learn more, visit footlockerscholarathletes.com.
About Foot Locker Foundation:
Founded in 2001, Foot Locker Foundation is the charitable arm of Foot Locker, Inc., which leads the celebration of sneaker and youth culture around the globe through a portfolio of brands including Foot Locker, Lady Foot Locker, Kids Foot Locker, Champs Sports, Eastbay, Footaction, Runners Point, and Sidestep. The company operates 3,129 stores in 27countries in North America, Europe, Australia, Asia and New Zealand. Since its inception, the Foundation has developed significant partnerships, programs, and initiatives to improve and enrich communities across the country. Our mission is to promote a better world for today’s youth by creating, developing, and supporting innovative educational programs and encouraging health and well-being through physical activity.
About Fastweb:
Fastweb, a top site in the Monster network, is the nation’s recognized leader in helping students pay for school, by providing scholarship and financial aid information, as well as information on jobs and internships. As the oldest and most popular free online scholarship matching service, one out of three college-bound seniors use the site and more than 50 million users have benefitted from Fastweb’s information and services. Fastweb lets students create personalized profiles that can be matched against its expansive databases of colleges and scholarships. To learn more about Fastweb, visitwww.fastweb.com and follow Fastweb on social media for the latest on paying for school all year long: Twitter (at @PayingForSchool); Facebook; Instagram and Pinterest.
About DoSomething Strategic:
DoSomething Strategic is a consulting group that helps clients drive social change through insights and creative solutions backed by data. Fueled by DoSomething.org‘s proprietary data from millions of young people involved in hundreds of cause initiatives, DoSomething Strategic uncovers what motivates young people to connect with companies and causes they care about. For more information, visit dosomethingstrategic.org.
