By Jackson Gianchetta
The world of college scholarships can be hard to navigate. To many, dredging through the seemingly endless sea of essay contests and grants from local businesses can be a daunting task. According to Ponte Vedra High School College Counselor, Ms. Jennifer Lee, “The search for college scholarships is certainly an important part of the college application process.” While many students are aware of some programs, such as Florida’s Bright Futures Scholarship, that award aid for feats of academic achievement and community service, not every scholarship is merit related. Many organizations seek to recognize high school students for work that furthers their specific fields and encourage further education on issues that matter to them. As many may expect, this creates many interesting and eccentric scholarships with strange names, purposes, and requirements.
Create-A-Greeting Card Scholarship:
Organized by The Gallery Collection, a company that manufactures greeting cards, this scholarship seeks to award ten thousand dollars to one “high school aged” student who submits their own card design. On top of taking home the grand prize, the winning greeting card will be sold by the company via a limited production run. The deadline for this scholarship is March 3rd and more information can be found on The Gallery Collection’s website.
Technology Addiction Award:
Awarded by Digital Responsibility, a nonprofit organization that works with students to “foster core tenants of digital citizenship” such as health, privacy, and security. This scholarship awards one thousand dollars to one winning student who writes a short, 100-word essay on the negative impacts of technology overuse. The deadline for applications is January 30th. And those interested can submit applications (quite ironically) on the organization’s website.
Asparagus Club Scholarship:
Presented by The National Grocer’s Association (NGA), which seeks to further the interests of the field of grocery and agriculture, the Asparagus Club Scholarship is an award that provides support for students whose education may further the field of grocery in some capacity. Limited to those majoring in Business, Food Management, Accounting, Human Resources, IT or other focuses leading to a career in grocery, applicants must be rising college freshman who at one point have had work experience within the grocery industry. Scholarships start at one thousand dollars. More information can be found on the NGA website.
foreclosure.com Scholarship:
The home auction website foreclosure.com presents this $1,000 scholarship to the student with the winning essay on how homelessness has affected them. Essays are not limited to a specific length but the organization recommends writing at least 500 words. More information can be found at the link provided.
American Fence Association Scholarship:
The American Fence Association Education Foundation a charitable organization operated by the AFA provides five academic scholarships of $5,000 to students who are the children of those “employed by the fence industry.” No essays are required to apply however applicants must have a 3.5 unweighted GPA and 40 verified community service hours to be considered. Finalists will be invited to attend a ceremony at the AFA’s FENCETECH convention where the winners are officially announced.
American Fire Sprinkler Association Scholarship:
The American Fire Sprinkler Association awards a total of ten $5,000 scholarships to students with above a 3.0 GPA. Students are selected at random from the entire pool of entry. A condition of the scholarship requires students to work with the organization to produce a short video that promotes fire safety to young people.
