Think for Yourself Scholarship
Let Grow’s “Think For Yourself ” high school essay contest awards $8,000 in college scholarships. It is open to U.S. high school students. Essays are due Feb. 28, 2021.
The contest asks students to consider the value of free speech, curiosity, and open mindedness in their everyday lives, with prompts like: “Who would you choose to censor what you read?” “When did you stand up — or not — for an unpopular idea?” “Ever learn something good…from a jerk?”
To date we have awarded $20,000 in college scholarships. The winners’ essays have been published in USA Today, The New York Post, The New York Daily News, The San Francisco Chronicle, The New Jersey Ledger, Quilette, and the bible of the education world, EdWeek.
This past school year over 5000 students entered the contest from all across the country.
First Place Winner, $5000 Scholarship:
Danyere Francis, Stratford, Ct: “Texting the Kid Who Assaulted Me.” (Published in the NY Daily News)
Runners Up, $1000 Scholarships
Lola Jean Benjamin, Salem, OR: “Black and White in the Classroom.” (Published in Quilette)
Maggie-Isabel Seabrook, Greenwich, NJ: “I Am The Breakfast Club.” (To be published in the NJ Star Ledger)
Zewditu Nora Herring, Oakland, CA: “When Is A Black Student Not Black?” (Published in the San Francisco Chronicle)
Winners, 2018-2019
Eilise McLaughlin, Tucson, AZ: “A Student’s Plea: Don’t Shield Me from Problematic Conversations.”(Published in Education Week.)
Carter Moore, Anchorage, AK. “A High School Lesson in Seeing Beyond Political Differences.” (Published in The New York Post.)
Madison Scroggins, Decatur, TX. “An Early Lesson in Fighting Political Polarization.” (Published in The New York Daily News.)
Elande Abate, Olathe, KS.
And here are the winning essays from the 2017-2018 contest.
Let Grow will award one $5,000 and three $1,000 college scholarships to U.S. high school students who exemplify independence of thought in their everyday lives.
Past Scholarship Winners
Elande Abate, Olathe, KS
“Sometimes you have a moment and something just hits you, and that’s what happened to me…I was a black girl. He was a white male. Instead of debating, I felt compelled to listen.”
Carter Moore, Anchorage, AK
“The hateful rhetoric surrounding political discussion in our country has gone too far. I have experienced firsthand how it can ruin a relationship.”
Eilise McLaughlin, Tucson, AZ
“The only way to properly form an opinion on an issue is to have all the information. This can sometimes mean being exposed to unpleasant or controversial issues.”
Winning Essays Have Been Published in:
Enter The Think For Yourself Scholarship Contest
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