Furman’s Skylar Hilmer has been recognized as a Southern Conference postgraduate scholarship recipient for the 2025-26 academic year, the league office announced on May 27.
Hilmer, a member of the women’s lacrosse team, was awarded the SoCon Presidential Scholarship. The annual scholarships will be presented during the 2026 awards presentation at the J.W. Marriott Hotel Savannah Plant Riverside District on Wednesday evening as part of the conference’s spring meetings.
The recipients are nominated by their schools and selected by the Southern Conference Graduate Scholar Committee. Each scholarship is valued at $2,000 and is awarded to student-athletes about to receive their undergraduate degrees who intend to pursue advanced degrees in graduate or professional school. Student-athletes are evaluated based on academics, athletics, and community service.
A native of San Diego, California, Hilmer transferred to Furman last season and helped lead the Paladins to a share of the 2025 Big South Regular Season Championship. She was named second team All-Big South in 2025 and appeared in 37 games during her time in Greenville. Hilmer finished her career ranked sixth all-time in draws for Furman, recording 78 draws last season and posting 55 in 2026. Over two seasons she compiled 14 points with ten goals and four assists along with forty ground balls and twenty-six caused turnovers.
Academically, Hilmer earned CSC Academic All-District and IWLCA Academic Honor Roll recognition. She graduated from Furman earlier this month with a perfect grade point average of 4.0 while majoring in psychology. Inspired by her brother’s autism diagnosis, she pursued research in memory and cognition while interning at an autism behavioral center. Hilmer plans to pursue a master’s degree in psychology at San Diego State before working toward a Ph.D., aiming for a career focused on educational and social cognition research.
