College Scholarship Program

Each year the Lodging Association awards a $4,000.00 scholarship to a qualified senior graduating from one of the Florida Keys high schools who enrolls in a college course of studies in the hospitality field. Consideration is also given to students enrolling at Florida Keys Community College who intend to transfer to a hospitality program in the future. To date the Lodging Association has awarded 11 scholarships to recipients from the Florida Keys.

Tourism is our largest industry in the Florida Keys. Becoming involved in hospitality is a great way for our young residents to return to the Keys after college. The lodging industry offers great career opportunities including hotel management, advertising, marketing, accounting, and food and beverages operations positions. It was estimated that employment in the industry would grow by more than 17% between 2004 and 2014.

The application process is relatively simple involving letters of recommendation & college acceptance, a high school transcript and a short essay as to why the applicant is planning to pursue hospitality studies in college. The scholarship funds are dispensed annually over the four years as long as the student continues to be enrolled in the college's hospitality program and maintains a 2.5 or better grade point average.

The scholarship is funded through the Association's Annual Golf Tournament.

The Scholarship Application can be downloaded from this site and returned to the office with the accompanying paperwork. The due date for application packages will be set in early spring to coordinate with each high school's graduation and awards ceremony dates.

» Download the Scholarship Application