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This week's Scholarship of the Week is a scholarship essay contest that offers a $10,000 reward to students who are actively engaged in fighting poverty. The In The River They Swim essay competition asks participants to reflect upon an experience living or working in a poor country or a poor region of a developed nation and tell a story about a personal journey they've had doing enterprise solutions to poverty.

What makes this competition unique is that it asks for students to go beyond the traditional response elicited by community service scholarships and other essay scholarships and to reflect on both successes and failures, as well as people encountered and lessons learned along the way. Rather than simply recounting experiences in a matter-of-fact way, a winning essay will tell a story in an engaging and illuminating manner. Most importantly, the essay should teach the reader something, and presents an opportunity to think both critically and creatively about your work, your attitudes, and your assumptions for a chance at a substantial cash prize and possible publication.

Prize: $10,000

Eligibility: Anyone is eligible to participate, regardless of age, level of education, or area of study.

Deadline: September 1, 2009

Required Material: An essay of no more than 2000 words written in response to the contest prompt and submitted online. All essays must be accompanied by a 100-word abstract.

Further details about the application process can be found by conducting a free college scholarship search on Scholarships.com. Once the search is completed, students eligible for thisscholarship award will find it in their search results.

Over the course of the last year, a number of colleges and universities have begun to offer scholarship opportunities for people who have found themselves out of work and in need of further education or job training. Yesterday, U.S. News profiled several newer community college programs, including several full-tuition scholarships, but even more awards are out there. Here's a run-down of some of the scholarships for displaced workers that we've found.

Community College Scholarships: Scholarships for recently unemployed students offered by community colleges are the most common. Colleges in several states are offering free tuition for one to two semesters, or even more, for displaced workers. Some, such as Oakton Community College in Illinois and the Community College of Allegheny County in Pennsylvania stipulate certain degree or certificate programs for their tuition benefits, and others, like several community colleges in New Jersey, will allow students to enroll in any course with empty seats. Others are offering partial tuition discounts, such as Anoka-Ramsey Community College in Minnesota. Michigan has launched a state-wide No Worker Left Behind program, which provides up to two years of free tuition for unemployed and underemployed workers at state community colleges. Students can also apply the credits towards an undergraduate degree at a state college or university. To qualify, students must be pursuing degrees that will lead to employment in high-demand occupations.

Undergraduate Scholarships: This summer, DeVry began offering scholarships to students who have enrolled at one of the seven schools owned by DeVry and who have lost their jobs in the last 12 months. As one example, the Employment Gap Scholarship gives students $1,000 per semester towards their tuition at DeVry. Many other four-year schools have also launched generous aid programs, or even offered full-tuition scholarships, for new and returning students who are facing economic difficulties. A number of these scholarships and grants may be available to displaced workers, especially if you now qualify for a Federal Pell Grant after losing your job. Scholarships for adult students are also worth looking into. While only a few are specifically for the recently unemployed, several are designed to generously aid adults who are enrolling in undergraduate programs.

Graduate Scholarships: In addition to offering free career center services, several universities are also aiding their alumni through tuition discounts on graduate programs and additional certification and training. Manchester College in Indiana will allow students who fail to find a job or a graduate program within six months of graduation a year of free coursework. Similarly, St. John's University in New York allows laid off alumni to attend its graduate programs for half price.

Government Benefits: Recently, the Obama administration began a national push for states to grant full unemployment benefits to recipients who choose to enroll in a college degree program, as incentive for unemployed workers to attend college. Additionally, financial aid adminstrators have been instructed to use greater lattitude in dealing with financial aid appeals from students who have lost their jobs, which could result in more federal grant money for returning students.

Photography is a fun hobby, but can be a difficult profession to break into. Whether you're going for studio photography or professional photojournalism, much of your success depends on building a portfolio and gaining exposure for your work.

Amateur photographers who are interested in receiving not only a college scholarship, but also industry recognition and professional internship experience, should be sure to check out this week's Scholarship of the Week, the College Photographer of the Year contest.

In addition to scholarship money, the student with the best portfolio will also receive the opportunity to intern with National Geographic, a potentially career-launching award. Winners in individual categories are also awarded equipment and educational opportunities from Nikon, the Poynter Institute, and the Missouri Photo Workshop. With sponsors including National Geographic, Nikon, and the National Press Photographers Foundation, entering the College Photographer of the Year competition will help you gain exposure in the photography and photojournalism industries, and you may get some cash out of the deal, as well.

Prize: First prize: $1,000; Second prize: $500

Eligibility: Undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in any college or university worldwide are eligible. Entrants may not have worked as professional photographers or paid interns for longer than two years prior to entering the contest.

Deadline: September 27, 2009

Required Material: A scholarship application, available on the College Photographer of the Year website, and a portfolio of photos taken between September 1, 2009 and August 30, 2009. Complete application instructions will be available Sunday, August 30.

Further details about the application process can be found by conducting a free college scholarship search on Scholarships.com. Once the search is completed, students eligible for this scholarship award will find it in their search results.

Often, scholarship opportunities also serve as opportunities for students to think about and respond to pressing issues of the day, and one of the problems weighing most heavily on society in the last year has been the global economic crisis.  While the recession has begun showing signs of abating, it is still creating serious problems in several areas of life, ranging from paying for school to owning a home.

Homeowners have been facing threats of foreclosure due to a combination of factors related to the recession, and this problem could still get worse before it gets better. The real estate website Foreclosure.com is sponsoring a scholarship essay contest that invites college students to propose solutions to the ongoing spike in foreclosures. With a $5,000 top prize for the scholarship essay that best explains "how to solve the foreclosure crisis," the Foreclosure.com Scholarship Program is this week's Scholarship of the Week.

Prize: Top prize is $5,000 and four runners-up will receive $1,000

Eligibility: Students who are currently enrolled in or have been accepted to an accredited college, university, law school or trade school in the United States.  U.S. citizenship is required.

Deadline: December 31, 2009

Required Material: A completed online scholarship application, along with an essay of 1,000 to 2,500 words addressing the essay topic. Scholarship applications will be judged on writing ability, creativity, originality, and overall excellence.

Further details about the application process can be found by conducting a free college scholarship search on Scholarships.com. Once the search is completed, students eligible for this scholarship award will find it in their search results.

Art school is expensive and financial prospects for those who receive art degrees are not always certain. For budding artists at any level of education, art scholarships can make a huge difference, as can gaining exposure for your works of art.

This week's Scholarship of the Week, the MyArtSpace Art Scholarship Competition, gives art school students at both the undergraduate and graduate level the chance to earn up to $5,000 in scholarship money. Students compile an online portfolio, complete with artist's statement and CV, and post it to MyArtSpace for judging. Winning entries will exhibit artistic excellence in a visual arts medium, contemporary or traditional, including photography and video.

Prize: Undergraduate and graduate entries will be judged separately, with the following awards for each: First prize: $5,000; Second prize: $2,000; Third prize: $1,000

Eligibility: Current or prospective undergraduate or graduate students pursuing a BFA, MFA, or other approved degree program in an accredited art school. Applicants can enter either the undergraduate or graduate category of judging, but not both.

Deadline: December 16, 2009

Required Material: Completed online registration and high-resolution samples of work. To enter, artsists create a free portfolio on MyArtSpace.com or NYAXE.com and upload up to 20 images. Including an artist statement and a CV or résumé is also encouraged.

Further details about the application process can be found by conducting a free college scholarship search on Scholarships.com. Once the search is completed, students eligible for this scholarship award will find it in their search results.

As further evidence that “going green” is here to stay, college graduations across the country may be looking a bit more environmentally-friendly this commencement season. According to a recent article from the Associated Press, at least 100 schools will have their graduates decked out in gowns made of recycled or biodegradable materials.

The gowns come from a number of manufactures, and a number of materials. Plastic has proved to be one of the more popular options, although schools have explored gowns made of sustainable bamboo and acetate, a material that decomposes within a year, according to the article. (Those made with the acetate come in a variety of colors; the plastic bottle gowns come only in black.)

Wake Forest University is one school that will have its graduates dressed in gowns made of recycled plastic bottles this season; each gown is made of about 23 plastic bottles. Students at Lafayette College and the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh will be trying out the biodegradable gowns instead. According to an article in The Christian Science Monitor, administrators at those schools said they wanted to test the product’s claims that the gowns would biodegrade within a year’s time, as they assume students will most likely toss their gowns after the ceremonies rather than looking for recycling bins set up campus-wide.

The gowns made out of the plastic bottles cost about $2 more apiece, although most colleges will be absorbing those costs. The biodegradable gowns range in price, although administrators have said they cost about 18 percent more than the gowns they had been using. Traditional gowns are made out of petroleum-based polyester. Students who have already tried out the varieties of “green” gowns made say they’re much lighter than the alternative, making them ideal for warm weather ceremonies.

It may no longer even be accurate to say that colleges are “going green.” Many of them are already there if you consider lists like the recent ranking of the 286 greenest colleges in the country from The Princeton Review. Commencements have also been a target of the environmentally-conscious for quite some time, with schools making sure to print programs on recycled paper, sending emailed invitations and tickets rather than printing them, using recycled cardboard in caps, or looking for ways to cut down on electricity use at the actual ceremonies. Would you describe your impending graduation ceremony as “green”? What has your college been doing to become more environmentally sound, or what more can they do?

Most 14-years-olds spend their school days learning algebra and being awkward. Not Colin Carlson: He’s too busy earning hefty scholarships for graduate school.

Carlson is a higher education veteran despite his limited years. Since the age of nine, Carlson has been taking classes at the University of Connecticut and today, he is a junior in the honors program and is working toward a dual degree in evolutionary biology and in environmental studies and ecology. The scholarship – $30,000 from the Truman Scholars program – is only the fourth of its kind bestowed upon a UConn student and these funds, plus another recently awarded $7,500 from the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship program for students headed into mathematics, science or engineering careers, will surely help the real genius as he pursues a law degree, a doctorate and a career in environmental advocacy.

Some may say $30,000 isn’t that much money for college these days but to others, it’s a life-changing sum. How are you planning to pay for school?

Have you ever spent time searching for the perfect card for your mom’s birthday, best friend’s first job or cousin’s anniversary but couldn’t find a greeting that conveyed exactly what you wanted to say? If so, this Scholarship of the Week – and its $10,000 prize – has your name all over it.

The Gallery Collection’s Annual Create-A-Greeting Card $10,000 Scholarship Contest asks its applicants – high school, undergraduate and graduate students – to design the front of a greeting card (holiday, birthday, thank you, get well, etc.) using original photographs, artwork and/or computer graphics. The student with the winning design will be awarded a $10,000 scholarship and have his or her creation made into a greeting card to be sold on The Gallery Collection’s website.

Have the perfect idea? Visit the official website and make sure to get your design submitted before the January 14th deadline. As always, to learn more about this award and other scholarship opportunities, conduct a free scholarship search today!

In this digital age, it’s not uncommon to receive emails, texts or Facebook wall posts in celebration of birthdays, holidays and other important life events. Sure, virtual contact can be easier but if you yearn for the days of handwritten correspondence (and are searching for money for college), our latest Scholarship of the Week is for you!

The Annual Create-A-Greeting-Card $10,000 Scholarship Contest asks applicants to design the front of a greeting card (holiday, birthday, thank you, get well soon, congratulations, etc.) consisting of original photographs, artwork and/or computer graphics. The student with the winning design will be awarded a $10,000 scholarship and his or her design will be made into a greeting card to be sold on The Gallery Collection website.

This scholarship is open to all high school, undergraduate and graduate students. To download the entry form and to read the official rules, please visit The Gallery Collection’s website and to review additional scholarship opportunities, conduct a free scholarship search today!