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by Emily

A native of a "small town in the Pacific Ocean," Deisha P. hopes to use her business major to improve the economic growth of Molokai, Hawaii, her island community that has struggled to balance development and preservation. To help achieve that goal, Deisha has been named the 2009 recipient of the annual $1,000 College Business Scholarship from Scholarships.com.

Scholarships.com has been awarding Area of Study College Scholarships since summer 2008 to help students like Deisha meet their college and career goals. The competition has now entered its second year, granting a different $1,000 scholarship each month to high school seniors and undergraduate students planning to pursue careers in the following fields: Business, Culinary Arts, Design, Computer Science, Education, Engineering, English, Health, History, Science, Technology, and Art.

These scholarships give students an opportunity to voice their opinions, and provide them with an opportunity to fund their education," said Kevin Ladd, Vice President for Scholarships.com. "The Area of Study College Scholarships make paying for college easier for students like Deisha who are willing to expend the time and effort necessary to realize their career goals while taking out as few student loans as possible."

Applicants are asked to compose essays describing what influenced their career choices. In her submission, Deisha described her goals of introducing innovative ways to bring more people to Molokai while maintaining the integrity of the island's "untouched" resources and vibrant culture.

The Scholarships.com Area of Study College Scholarships are open to all U.S. citizens who will be attending college in the fall of 2009, regardless of age, test scores or grade point average. To apply for the Scholarships.com Area of Study College Scholarships, students can visit Scholarships.com, conduct a free college scholarship search and complete an online scholarship application.

A complete list of Area of Study scholarship winners, as well as their winning essays is available on our Student Winners page.

by Suada Kolovic

A high school student with excellent grades, a top ACT score and a history of leadership has won full-merit scholarship to Southern Illinois University. No surprise there – she sure sounds like a worthy candidate – but the scholarship winner in question is Maddie Poshard, the granddaughter of the university’s president, Glenn Poshard.

Ms. Poshard was one of 24 students selected for the Presidential/Chancellor Scholarship, a taxpayer-funded scholarship worth about $80,000. More than 250 students applied for the award and 100 finalists were invited for campus interviews before the winners were chosen. "My first concerns began after finding out that I had received the scholarship," Poshard wrote in an email to the Chicago Tribune. "After the initial excitement I learned that not everyone would believe that I earned my scholarship fairly. My family and I discussed the potential consequences of accepting the scholarship, and then I decided the scholarship was the best way to set myself up for success in the future, no matter what criticisms may be said."

According to the Tribune, Mr. Poshard says he stayed out of the scholarship decision, but acknowledges that officials knew that Ms. Poshard was his granddaughter. University financial aid directors said that, in general, schools do not bar employees’ relatives from merit scholarships. Do you think nepotism played a role in Ms. Poshard’s scholarship win? Do you think it’s fair for a clearly bright student to have her credentials questioned because of who her grandfather is? Let us know what you think.

by Agnes Jasinski

The Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund will provide $8.4 million in college scholarships this coming school year to the children, spouses and domestic partners of those who lost their lives in the September 11th terrorist attacks.

About half of that total has already been distributed for the fall semester to 520 students in mainly the New York and New Jersey region. The rest will go out in December for semesters starting in January. The needs-based fund, managed by Scholarship America, was created shortly after the terrorists attacks in 2001 thanks to an initial $1 million pledge from the Lumina Foundation for Education and the outpouring of donations that followed. Colleges and universities, organizations, and individuals across the country led by fundraising campaign co-chairs President Bill Clinton and U.S. Senator Bob Dole eventually raised about $125 million, with more in the years that followed. More than $46 million has been awarded since January 2002 to about 1,400 students, and the fund is set to continue giving out scholarships through 2030.

The average award this year was about $16,000, with everyone receiving at least $1,000 and one top award of $40,000. Those who were left permanently disabled in the attacks are also eligible. The fund's organizers claim there are still more than 5,400 students eligible for the scholarships. About $7.4 million was awarded for the last school year, and if this year's disbursement is any indicator, the scholarship amounts are only expected to rise.

Several companies and organizations set up scholarship funds for the families of victims in the September 11th terrorists attacks, including the National Law Enforcement And Firefighters Childrens Foundation Scholarship, which awards scholarships to children of law enforcement and firefighting personnel who were lost in the line of duty, and the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund, which provides emergency short-term financial assistance and emotional and mental health support to those who lost loved ones in not only the terrorist attacks, but other disasters and emergencies.

by Mariah Proctor

It puts me in a bit of an awkward position to explore what it takes to stand out from the pack: If I am unsuccessful, this blog post won’t even stand out enough for you to finish reading it (which is just cruel irony) but I’ll try my best.

By the time you finish high school, you have a pretty good idea of what sets you apart from your classmates. You’ve figured by then that because you get good grades and you excel at this or that, you are set apart and safely defined. Then you begin attending college and find out that you’re surrounded by a bunch of people who also got good grades in high school and also excelled at the exact same this or that as you. Essentially, you meet a lot of other high schools’ versions of yourself.

So how do you set yourself apart? How do you keep from getting overlooked in scholarship applications, interviews and program admissions? Stop trying so hard to find out what they want. Be excellent and work diligently but stop trying so hard to adjust to some imagined expectation of a winner and instead concentrate on figuring out what you truly have to offer. Explore yourself and take note of the winning qualities and the passions that rule your actions. Only in cultivating what you’re actually good for (and we’ve all got something, even when you’re feeling like you don’t) and making those communicable and usable can you stand out from a crowd of anonymity.

In a world where the pool of people clamoring to fill positions is getting bigger, there are already plenty of cookie cutters and checklists, but there isn’t nearly enough heart. So find yours, show it and watch the rest of the pack fade away.

Mariah Proctor is a senior at Brigham Young University studying theatre arts and German studies. She is a habitual globe-trotter and enjoys acoustic guitar, sunshine and elephant whispering. Once the undergraduate era of her life comes to an end, she plans to perhaps seek a graduate degree in film and television production or go straight to pounding the pavement as an actor and getting used to the sound of slammed doors. Writing has and always will be the constant in her whirlwind life story.

by Suada Kolovic

This year, The National WWII Museum asks: How can people who disagree still work together for victory?

In order to fight – and ultimately win – WWII, the United States allied itself with countries it had political, economic and strategic disagreements with – both small and large. On the Home Front disagreements existed between politicians of different parties, between workers and factory owners, and between racial groups. Most times (but not always) we were able to put aside these differences for the greater good.

For your essay, think about the United States today – both the country as a whole and your city, school and even your family. You will see differences of opinion on a variety of subjects – both small and large. Examine these differences along with our common goals to answer the question: How can people who disagree still work together to solve a problem? Use WWII as a starting point and base your essay in part on America’s involvement in WWII. But don’t stop in the past. Use specific examples from your own experiences that support your ideas. This is not a research paper. Your essay will be judged foremost for its originality, clarity of expression, and adherence to contest theme, as well as its historical accuracy, grammar, spelling, and punctuation. The National WWII Museum staff will read and evaluate entries.

The National WWII Museum is accepting entries through March 29th. If you are interested in learning more about this or other scholarship opportunities, conduct a free scholarship search today!

by Suada Kolovic

This year, The National WWII Museum asks: How can people who disagree still work together for victory?

In order to fight – and ultimately win – WWII, the United States allied itself with countries it had political, economic and strategic disagreements with – both small and large. On the Home Front disagreements existed between politicians of different parties, between workers and factory owners, and between racial groups. Most times (but not always) we were able to put aside these differences for the greater good.

For your essay, think about the United States today – both the country as a whole and your city, school and even your family. You will see differences of opinion on a variety of subjects – both small and large. Examine these differences along with our common goals to answer the question: How can people who disagree still work together to solve a problem? Use WWII as a starting point and base your essay in part on America’s involvement in WWII. But don’t stop in the past. Use specific examples from your own experiences that support your ideas. This is not a research paper. Your essay will be judged foremost for its originality, clarity of expression, and adherence to contest theme, as well as its historical accuracy, grammar, spelling, and punctuation. The National WWII Museum staff will read and evaluate entries.

The National WWII Museum is accepting entries through March 29th. If you are interested in learning more about this or other scholarship opportunities, conduct a free scholarship search today!