Area high school
students have opportunity to win $2,000 scholarships
Now is the time for area
high schools students, grades 9-12 to get their essay entries written for the
annual Nel Propst Northeastern Colorado Historical Essay Contest. The deadline
for the competition is March 1st. Students have an opportunity to win
up to $2,000 in scholarship money to the college of their choice. This contest
has been expanded this year and now includes high schools in Morgan County. And,
a cover design competition has been added to allow art students to also compete
for scholarship dollars. In past years, the number of contestants entering has
ranged from 12 to 15 so the odds of winning are quite good.
The contest is open to all
high school students, regardless whether they are public or home schooled,
provided they live in the contest’s designated geographical area which includes
the following area. All high schools in Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgwick,
Washington and Yuma Counties plus the Briggsdale, New Raymer, Pawnee and Grover
school districts in northeastern Weld County.
The entry deadline for
home-schooled student entries is February 15th as these entries are judged
separately with the top two being placed in the overall competition.
Each year the contest
awards a $2,000 scholarship to the top essay winner and $1,000 scholarship to
the first runner-up. Added this year will be a prize to an art student from one
of these designated high schools (or home school) who submits the winning cover
design for the 2013 book. This winner will receive a $1,000 award.
Students entering the
essay portion of the contest are asked to write an thesis of approximately 2,000
to 2,500 words on the local history about an individual, groups of individuals
or events affecting or occurring within the geographical area serviced by the
above listed school districts within Northeastern Colorado. Each school may
accept unlimited entries but will only be allowed to submit the top two entries
as determined by the school for the final judging. Cover design entries must
follow some specific guidelines which are posted on the website listed
below.
Each student who has an
essay or cover design entered must have a sponsoring faculty, counselor of
administrative member from their school. This sponsor, should his or her student
win either of the contests, will also receive a $500 grant respectively. These
grants may be used to fund class field trips or purchase classroom equipment and
or supplies.
In the case of home
schooled students who might win the essay contest, the faculty award will be
given to a library or museum, within the defined geographical area, selected by
the scholarship winner.
All final entrants and
their faculty sponsors will be invited to spend a day in Sterling in early May
at which time they will have an opportunity to tour NJC, visit the Overland
Trail Museum and attend an awards luncheon where all entries are recognized and
top winners announced.
The winning writer’s
school as determined by the judges will be awarded a 12 x 12 black granite
trophy which will permanently reside in the school’s trophy case.
Perhaps the least
mentioned benefit derived from participation in the Nell Propst Historical Essay
Contest is the publication of contest entries in a bound book titled “A Short
History Of Northeastern Colorado” (As seen through the eyes of our high school
scholars) which is published annually, given to all of the submitted entrants,
to each of their sponsoring faculty members, all the area museums for their
reference libraries, and each of the registered high schools to place in their
libraries.
For more information about
the contest’s rules and where your entries should be submitted, visit the
website nphec.com and click on the links. You may also call contest coordinator
Ken Horner at 970-522-2440 or email him at khorner@nphec.com
The funds used in this
contest are managed and dispersed by the Northeastern Junior College Foundation,
however, students winning scholarships may use their award at any college of
their choosing.
Last year’s top essay
entry was submitted by Jeremy Loutensock of Holyoke High School for his essay
entitled “Unseen Glory.” Dan Conn, a history teacher, was his sponsor. Second
place entry was submitted by Katelyn Kaus of Haxtun High School who was
sponsored by Amy Schadegg and Vickie Fuesz.
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