New $5,000 Scholarship Opens
The Asian American Journalism Association (AAJA) proudly supports the educational and career goals of Asian American journalism college students with an established stable of lucrative scholarships. New scholarship addition, the Vincent Chin Memorial Scholarship, will make one $5,000 scholarship award annually to a particular student whose journalistic mettle and personal character emulates that of Vincent Chin.
Chin, killed in 1982, was an employee in a Detroit auto plant when he was gunned down in a hate-motivated crime. The student recipient of the new Chin Memorial Scholarship will be chosen for his or her interest and commitment to Asian American diversity, Civil Rights, and an intolerance and awareness of hate crimes everywhere.
Criteria for scholarship:
- Financially needy.
- Academically motivated.
- Graduating high school seniors, undergraduate, or graduate journalism students.
- “Sensitive to Asian American and Pacific Islander issues.”
- Involved in extracurricular activities related to the spirit of the scholarship.
Applications for the Vincent Chin Memorial Scholarship, as well as the rest of the AAJA’s 2008 scholarships, will be available beginning January 2008.
Are You a High School Student in Ohio?
A new scholarship launches next year specially designed for Ohio students. The James A. Rhodes Leadership Foundation has developed an innovative new scholarship-to-work program. Slated to launch Fall 2008, the program is designed to offer a two-year community college tuition scholarship to one student from every high school—that’s a few hundred—in the state of Ohio. The program, officially called the “Diploma to Work” Scholarship program, has multi-pronged goals:
- Offer more students an affordable and practical Associates or certificate degree.
- Put those graduates together with good jobs and the right business and industry connections.
- Jettison the Ohio economy with a more self-sustaining and well-educated work force.
Eligible applicants must be:
- Graduating Ohio high school seniors.
- Enrolled in one of the state community or technical colleges.
- Demonstrate financial need.
- Demonstrate academic motivation.
- Able to support their commitment to the Diploma to Work program through a concise and well-written essay; and participate in a final panel interview.
- Able to maintain a C+ in academic studies.
- Commitment to work within the state for at least four years following graduation in a field related to their major.
The Rhodes Foundation is going full-speed-ahead with the project following the recent announcement that the state of Ohio granted it $10 million to get the project off the ground. Over the next 7 or 8 years the organization will solicit for major contributions to reach a final endowment of $65 million. Bookmark the foundation’s site to stay abreast of scholarship updates. Don’t miss this one.
An Additional $80,000 Added to Award Coffers
The annual Elks’ National Foundation Scholarships awards 500 scholarships to high school seniors in the Most Valuable Student Competition. This year, with the addition of $80,000, there will be more high-dollar winners. The competition begins at the local level and students must win there to advance to the district competitions. Winners at the district level advance to state competitions and then to the national prizes where the 500 scholarships are awarded: 2-$60,000, 2- $40,000, 2-$20,000, 2-$16,000, 2-$12,000, 4-$10,000, 4-$8,000, and 482-$4,000. Award totals reflect four years of undergraduate study.
Scholarship requirements:
- Eligible applicants must be graduating high school seniors enrolled in a four-year undergraduate degree program.
- Applicants must be attending school on a full-time basis.
- No affiliation with the Elks is required.
- Students must have a high GPAs and demonstrable financial need for the awards.
- Eligible students must have interests in community affairs, extracurricular activities, and/or demonstrate above average leadership skills and talent.
Applications will become available on September 1, 2007 at local Elks Lodges. January 11, 2008 is the deadline for submitting applications. They must be returned to local lodges to be considered for the MVS scholarship. Winners will be announced in May 2008.
Brickfish Giving Away $$$ Prizes for Funniest Student Joke-Meisters
Brickfish—an online content and ad-buster site—is soliciting for jokes. First place scholarship is $500, second place–$250; and third place (funniest according to Brickfish staff)–$100. The awards are not biggies, but you’ll get plenty of online exposure. Your jokes are launched onto the Brickfish site where winners are chosen based on user votes. The more votes you receive, the better your chances to win.
Submissions are being accepted up until September 10 at 11:30 pm.
Scholarship details include:
- Student participants must be 14 or older.
- Applicants may submit audio or video.
- Jokes must be uploaded through the Brickfish site.
- Participants must sign up for membership with Brickfish.
The online directions are straightforward. Still hesitant? Shy? Check out the site’s growing volume of current submissions for an idea of what other students consider “funniest.”
Iowa Community College Students Receive $50,000 Encouragement to Complete Their Bachelors Degrees
The University of Iowa will dole out up to 25 new $1,000 scholarships as part of its renewed incentive to encourage motivated community college students to transfer to UI. The 2 Plus 2 Guaranteed Graduation Plan, as it’s called, is designed exclusively for two-year Iowa CC students enrolled in this attractive transfer program.
Requirements for consideration in Iowa’s 2 Plus 2 Scholarship include:
- Superior GPA.
- Two-year Associates degree from one of Iowa’s community colleges.
- Transfer application to the University of Iowa with intentions to pursue a Bachelors degree.
- Completion of prerequisite courses for admission to UI.
In its initial phase, the scholarships will be limited to certain community colleges and about 20 different student majors. But the addition of all 19 of Iowa’s community colleges is close at hand.
Renewal Scholarships Complete the $50,000 Commitment
One-year renewals are built into the program for participating students that have maintained the established “academic checkpoints” for their major. This second round of $1,000 scholarships completes the new annual $50,000 commitment to community college transfers. Second year funds give transfer students as complete a financial leg-up as is possible for them to complete their educational goals. Renewal is conditional on student performance.
Student participants in the 2 Plus 2 Guaranteed Graduation Plan are not required to formally apply for the scholarships; all transfers that meet the above award criteria are considered.
Awarding $1500 Each Week
Driven by the impulse to encourage black males to attend Historically Black Colleges and Universities, the Tom Joyner Foundation has launched an innovative and attractive weekly scholarship. The program, cleverly dubbed, Brothers On the Move Scholarship, will award one-$1500 scholarship per week to a black male student attending the “HBCU of the month.” Tom Joyner, popular celebrity and media advocate for the black community, will choose the campus of the month on his morning show. The first scholarship was awarded at the end of July, to a student at Tougaloo University, but there are plenty more where that came from. The “August HBCU of the Month”: Cheney University in Pennsylvania. Following campuses include: September- Tennessee State University; October- Edward Waters University; November- Savannah State University; and December- Morgan State University.
Brothers On the Move Scholarship application requirements include:
- Candidates must be black males attending a HBCU.
- Minimum GPA of 3.0 is required.
- Must be enrolled in a degree-seeking program.
- Must possess outstanding leadership abilities.
- Candidates with community-driven career goals are preferred.
Interested candidates enrolled on any of the chosen monthly campuses are urged to ask for applications directly from their financial aid and scholarships office.
Joyner, and other philanthropists like him, have been driven to monetary support due to the continued dismal ratio of male students to females on HBCUs. However, there are now signs that the tide is turning. This is proof that scholarships not only provide cash, but also a much needed social and spiritual confidence.
Are you eligible to receive $8,000 over the course of four years?
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) opens its 2008 scholarship season in August to U.S. and Canadian students. Again, the organization will donate thousands of dollars to the college educations of its members and dependents of members with the express goal to assist students in earning a complete, uninterrupted degree. Criteria for eligibility includes:
- Applicants must be an IAM member or a dependent of a member, a senior in high school, or already in a degree program.
- Students may be residents of the U.S. or Canada.
- Applicants must pursue an uninterrupted four-year or two-year undergraduate degree on at least a half-time basis from a college, university, or technical school.
- Scholarships are renewable for up to four years, depending upon length of program.
Judges review applicants for academic success, personal references, educational and career goals, and extracurricular activities.
Scholarship awards are as follows:
- Eligible dependents of members may receive $1,000 per year of school.
- Member students may receive $2,000 per year of school.
- Download applications from the IAM Headquarters.
- Deadline is February 22, 2008.
2007-2008 Audio Essay Contest
The Veterans of Foreign Wars has recently announced the topic for its 2007-2008 Voice of Democracy scholarship audio essay competition: “My role in honoring America’s veterans.” The contest welcomes submissions from high school students around the country. Monetary prizes between $1000 and $16,000 are awarded for state finalists with the biggest purse–$30,000—promised to the national winner. All in all, the VFW will hand out over $3 million in college scholarship prize money next year.
Admission criteria for the VFW VOD contest:
- High school student in grades 9 to 12 may enter.
- Entry forms must be first submitted to student’s local VFW post.
- Essays must be recorded on CD or cassette tape and may not exceed 5 minutes in length.
- Content must adhere to the assigned patriotic topic.
- Application must be authorized by a parent or guardian.
Judging is done on local, district, state, and national levels. District winners compete for all expenses paid trips to Washington, D.C. sponsored by Target Corporation. District winners, however, are automatically entered into state competitions, and state winners subsequently compete for the national grand prize of $30,000.
The Voice of Democracy Scholarship has been helping students fund their education since 1947. Each year there is a new topic as well as bigger scholarship awards. Read last year’s winning essay to get an idea of what judges are looking for.
Over Quarter of a Million Dollars in Scholarships to Students in Northeast
Big Y Foods, Inc., a leading grocery store chain, expects to dole out over 300 college scholarships next year to academically talented customers, employees and their dependents. There are over 50 Big Y grocery stores, most located throughout the Northeast:
- Connecticut
- Massachusetts
Part of Big Y’s scholarship program includes special assistance for the dependents of law enforcement and fire fighters, as well. All scholarships are merit-based.
Get a Big Y Application
Students residing within a Big Y market area should see their high school career office for an application or visit their local Big Y outlet. Applications will be available as of October and must be postmarked no later than February 9, 2008.
Information necessary for applications:
- School transcripts
- SAT/ACT scores
- List of extracurricular activities
- Letters of recommendation
Diversity Scholarship Program
Dominion is offering a $2000 scholarship with a paid internship program.
This program is open to students enrolled full-time in a field of study mutually beneficial to the company and the individual.
Guidelines
- 3.0 GPA or above
- Enrolled/Attending an accredited 4-year college or university
- Freshman or Sophomore
- Must commit to the paid 10-12 week summer internship
Deadline
Applicants must be postmarked by February 28, 2008 . There are two online forms available: one to print, fill out and mail; and another to complete online.
