NST Scholar Highlight: Tyler Kanable

Each year, Two Ten awards the National Shoe Travelers Scholarship (NST) to help students in the footwear community pursue their higher education goals and build brighter futures. This is one of their stories. 

Since he was a young kid, Tyler Kanable has always been interested in the weather. 

“I'd watch storms roll in, and I'd be scared of them and hide in the basement,” Tyler told Two Ten in an interview. “As I got older, I wanted to learn more about them and thought this could be a really interesting job to do in the future.” 

When it came time to apply for college, Tyler was drawn to the Meteorology program at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.  

“I knew I wanted to go out of state and in order to do that, I'd probably need some scholarships,” Tyler said. 

His father, Rob Kanable, encouraged Tyler to look into Two Ten. A footwear industry employee since 1995 and member of the National Shoe Travelers (NST), Rob had first learned about the Two Ten scholarship when his older daughter, Ryan, received the award during her last two years of college. 

“[NST Executive Director] Terry Bastis would show up at our regional shows always touting [the scholarship],” Rob said. “When I finally had kids getting ready to go to college, we looked into it further.” 

Now an incoming freshman at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Tyler was awarded a special scholarship from Two Ten for families that are members of NST. While he still plans to get a job on campus, he said the scholarship will help ease his financial concerns and give him more time to focus on school and social activities. 

Outside of his studies, Tyler enjoys going on walks and photographing nature and animals. His dream is to work for the National Weather Service. 

“I'm excited for classes that are more geared towards what I want to do in the future,” he said. 

For Rob, the scholarship also provides peace of mind. With his third child approaching college in a few years, he knows the financial relief will make an even bigger difference for his family. 

“It eases our mind, too, knowing that there's less money that we have to pay,” Rob said. “College isn't cheap anymore, so every little bit helps.” 

While none of his children have followed his path in footwear, it was Rob’s connection to the industry that helped make their education possible. Rob, who has worked at Skechers since 2017, describes his career not simply as a job, but as more of a “lifestyle."

“I've met some of my best friends in the industry, and I've learned a lot through people in the industry,” he said.  

His hope for his children is simple: that they find work they enjoy as much as he has enjoyed his own career. 

“As long as you're happy doing what you're doing, you're going to enjoy work,” Rob said. “If you're not happy, then it really is work.” 

Meet our 2026-2027 scholars.

Interested in our scholarship program? Sign up to receive updates on our application for the 2027-2028 academic year, which opens in January 2027.