The Multifaceted PENSOLE High School will Hold Free One-Day Workshops in New York, Oregon, California, North Carolina, Florida and Kentucky, at Champs Sports Stores Followed by Online Challenges and a Live Design Competition
Portland, Ore. – Oct. 1, 2019 — PENSOLE Design Academy, in partnership with Kenan Family Trust and Champs Sports, today announced the six-state launch of PENSOLE High School (PHS), a multidiscipline pre-college design program called Sneakerhead of State (S.O.S) for high school students.
“S.O.S has a double meaning—both standing for the program name, but also calling out the lack of design education for high school students nationwide. PENSOLE High School was created to inspire and raise awareness of design careers in the footwear industry,” PENSOLE founder D’Wayne Edwards said. “Reaching high school youth is critical to empower students on their path toward becoming innovative problem-solvers while preparing them to create their own path for their future.”
Through its Sneakerhead of State workshops, online and in-person competitions, PHS will reach a wide range of high school students interested in exploring design as a career option. All PHS programs are open to rising 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th-grade students.
“Champs Sports is thrilled to be partnering with PENSOLE to introduce students to the design process at a younger age than ever before,” said Jason Brown, VP of Marketing for Champs Sports. “We know our consumer is engrained in and a driving force behind athletic lifestyle. Showing young people how the products they love come to life, and how they can become involved in the design process is of the utmost importance to drive the future of our industry.”
Sneakerhead of State workshops will be held at Champs Sports stores in the hometowns of PENSOLE alumni, who will conduct the workshops with a goal of introducing participants and parents to the design process. Depending on the length of the workshop offered, participants will be given brief exercises covering a range (3-6) of studio disciplines offered at PENSOLE Academy, such as footwear design, color and material design, functional apparel and accessories design, brand design, shoemaking, and 3D design.
One student each will be crowned the Sneakerhead of State in Footwear Design, Color and Material Design, and Functional Apparel and Accessories Design in December. These students, along with the high school they attend, will receive cash prizes, gift cards from Champs Sports and a scholarship to attend PENSOLE, in Portland, Ore.
Registration is open now at https://pensole.com/pensole-high/high-school-workshops/ and the workshops’ schedule is as follows:
CHAMPS @HARLEM 125TH
October 5, 2019
Harlem, NY
Registration closes: September 29, 2019
CHAMPS @CONCORD MILLS MALL
October 5, 2019
Concord, NC
Registration closes: September 29, 2019
CHAMPS @CROSSCREEK MALL
October 6, 2019
Fayetteville, NC
Registration closes: September 29, 2019
CHAMPS @AVENTURA MALL
October 12, 2019
Miami, FL
Registration closes: September 29, 2019
CHAMPS @WASHINGTON SQ.
October 12, 2019
Portland, OR
Registration closes: October 6, 2019
CHAMPS @WESTFIELD CULVER CITY
October 19, 2019
Culver City, California
Registration closes: October 6, 2019
CHAMPS @ST. MATTHEWS
October 19, 2019
Louisville, KY
Registration closes: October 6, 2019
About PENSOLE
D’Wayne Edwards, a celebrated member of the global footwear community for the last 30 years, founded PENSOLE in 2010 to give talented young design students—regardless of socioeconomic background—an opportunity to learn from the industry’s best, without financial barriers, and to provide the industry with a farm system for the next generation of footwear designers.