Before beginning your application please make sure that you have the following information on hand. You will not be able to save the application once you start:
You will need to include the following documents as attachments: Your personal statement, three letters of recommendation, a verification of your disability from a medical professional, an unofficial transcript of high school or previous college work and a current digital photograph. These items may also be emailed to info@SwimwithMikeFoundation.org if not available when you complete the online application.
To provide financial resources for advanced education that paves the way for physically challenged athletes to overcome personal tragedies and realize their full potential.
An annual fundraising swim-a-thon that generates scholarship funds for physically challenged athletes. Inspired by All-American swimmer, Mike Nyeholt, who was paralyzed in a motorcycle accident, the fund has continually helped other challenged athletes overcome their physical barriers since 1981. By encouraging an active lifestyle and promoting positive self-esteem, the Swim With Mike program hopes to empower its recipients to achieve self-sufficiency while defining and refocusing their lives, and helping them discover what they can accomplish.
Swim With Mike was founded in 1981 by USC Trojans as a way to help a fellow Trojan in need. Since inception it has been hosted, operated and supported by the University of Southern California.
We support college scholarships for athletes who participated in organized competitive youth, high school or collegiate athletics and subsequently have sustained a life changing accident or illness (e.g. paralysis, blindness, cancer, amputation, head injuries). Scholarship recipients will meet the admissions standards at a four year or graduate level institution of higher learning. Following matriculation at the institution, the scholarship recipient shall maintain satisfactory progress towards their degree program and maintain a minimum grade point average of no less than 2.5 cumulative and the minimum required by their department to be considered “in good academic standing”. Recipients will provide a copy of their cumulative transcript as well as a letter requesting renewal of their scholarship at the end of each academic year in order to receive aid in subsequent academic years.
Complete scholarship applications must be submitted to Swim With Mike Executive Director Ron Orr prior to the May 1 deadline. The Swim With Mike Board of Directors will meet in June to review new applications as well as renewals. Applicants will be contacted immediately following the Board meeting regarding the status of their application.
Participation in the Swim With Mike Family Association both as a recipient and as an alumni recipient, fundraising and public relations efforts is expected. The scholarship recipients are the lifeblood of this organization and it is anticipated that they will be involved for a lifetime.