Graduation cords from Honors Graduation have made this opportunity possible. Thanks for your generosity!
The STORY
Ever wondered just how much of a difference high school students can make in their communities? In our 2022 scholarship program, our past winners proved it can be profound. That’s why our 2023 Build A Better Future scholarship will also be a design-thinking community improvement project based on the LAUNCH Cycle. We will award $10,000 to five new seniors, with the top recipient receiving an additional $5,000 grant to continue funding their project.
The PROCESS
- Read the Rules and Terms & Conditions (below)
- Design & work on a community improvement project, using our checklist as a guide. Watch our webinar here for answers to some recent questions.
- OPTIONAL: Fill out any of our three brainstorming forms for additional guidance and suggestions.
- Form 1: The Idea
No idea what to do or where to start? No problem! By filling out this form, you will receive one-on-one mentoring to help you come up with a design thinking project.
Deadline: November 7th, 2022 - Form 2: Plan of Action
Now that you’ve started on your project, we want to hear about it! Tell us about your goals, resources, tactics, and the steps you’ve taken (or will be taking) to build up your community. If you feel stuck or unsure, this form will provide one-on-one guidance to ensure that you have everything you need to get started. If you missed the deadline for the Idea form and are still interested in coming up with a project, you can use this form for help in determining what project would best support your community.
Deadline: December 5th, 2022 - Form 3: Implementation
*speaks in the style of Kronk* “Oh yeah, it’s all comin’ together.”
This is our third and final form before final submissions are due and it is all about action. We want all the details about your project up to this point. Why you chose this project and the consequent goals that you set. Most importantly, we want to know HOW you accomplished your goals. Show us rather than tell us. We will provide personalized feedback and any tips we can to aid you in submitting your final application.
Deadline: February 20th, 2023
- Form 1: The Idea
- Regardless of whether or not you filled out our first three forms, anyone who has been working on a design thinking project to build up their community is welcome to apply for our scholarship! Submit your final application by May 28, 2023, at 11:59 Mountain Time (see FAQ’s & Details page for link and details on submission requirements). If you have any questions regarding the application, you can email scholarship@honorsgraduation.com for assistance.
- We select five winners to receive $10,000 tuition scholarships, with the top project receiving an additional $5,000 to continue funding their project and maximize impact. We select applications based on their completion, seriousness, and viability.
Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates, tips, and examples!
The RULES
- You must be a graduating high school senior that will be attending a U.S.-based college, trade school, or university to continue your education.
- All high school seniors are eligible.
Read full terms & conditions here:
Eligibility Criteria:
To be eligible for the scholarship, applicants must be graduating high school seniors planning on attending an accredited college, university, or trade school in the United States of America. Additionally, students must have met all of the requirements described on this website (https://honorsgradu.com/). Employees of Honors Graduation and their families are not eligible to participate. Submissions must be received before the deadlines in order to qualify for the scholarship program. Mailed applications must be postmarked by that deadline. There are no citizenship requirements.
Privacy:
By submitting your work, you agree that we may display the project on our websites, including, but not limited to photos, links, videos, etc. This will likely only be done for winning candidates, and will only include the applicant’s name, school, and the project itself. No other personal contact information we collect will be used without explicit permission obtained beforehand via email.
Choosing a Winner:
Submissions will be evaluated by our judges only after all submissions have been received by the various deadlines. When choosing a winner we will be looking at:
1. The quality & quantity of work already completed
2. The potential for future long-term impact
3. General community relevance of the project.
Finalists may also be asked for proposals on how they would use the $5,000 grant if selected as the top recipient. As a tip for future applicants: the more specific those plans, the better (especially if they involve plans to seek additional funding or perpetuate the fund toward your project in the long term). Being a finalist does not mean you have won the scholarship, we are simply seeking more information in order to choose the top winners.
After carefully reviewing the available information on our site, applicants may also email the scholarship committee, (scholarship@honorsgraduation.com), with further questions.
Disbursement:
The top 5 selected entrants will, upon verification of eligibility criteria as described above, receive their one-time scholarship disbursement of $10,000 in the form of a check from Honors Graduation to the approved school or university, listing the student as the beneficiary, depending on the individual school outside scholarship policies. Awardees will be contacted by June 16, 2023, and funds will be distributed after that date. Should the $10,000 amount exceed the tuition balance for the first semester, we will instruct the college to apply surplus scholarship funds toward subsequent semesters. It is the recipient’s exclusive responsibility to ensure that funds are received by the school or university and should notify us if that does not happen within 30 days of the date the check is issued.
Sources:
- Ford Institute for Community Building
- AJ Juliani and John Spencer’s LAUNCH Framework for design thinking
Honors Graduation reserves the right to discontinue this program at any time without any notice. This promotion is void where prohibited.