NRA Foundation Awards $17,500 in College Scholarships
FAIRFAX, Va.— The NRA Foundation awarded a total of $17,500 through this year's Youth Education Summit (YES) Grand Scholarship contest. Applications for this year's Grand Scholarship were accepted from attendees at the 2006 summit. Scholarships are paid directly to the accredited college or technical school of the student's choice.
The Youth Education Summit is a seven-day, expense paid educational experience in Washington, D.C., for high school sophomores and juniors. While in the nation's capital, students learn the significance of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and develop an understanding of federal government and the importance of active citizenship.
YES participants can compete for up to $30,000 in college scholarship awards. There are two rounds where scholarships are awarded. The first round is given at the conclusion of YES and is comprised of $10,000. The second round of scholarship awards can be given to multiple students or to only one student. It is comprised of up to $20,000 and involves a second application, available to the participants after they complete the summit. This scholarship is referred to as the Grand Scholarship.
The scholarship award recipients include:
“Such an honor makes me grateful for the opportunity to have met and befriended like-minded young people from across the nation and to have been associated with the great Americans who are the staff of the YES program,” said Caroline Cox, the top scholarship recipient. “I strongly encourage the youth of America to apply to this program, whereby they may experience the inner workings of government and participate in speeches and debates about current issues.”
Cox is currently exploring a multitude of opportunities for her undergraduate studies in violin or piano performance. Then, she said she would be interested in pursuing a law degree. “The YES program initiated a desire in me to become a lawyer to further the cause of freedom and the principle of our Second Amendment,” said Cox.
To win the scholarship, Cox maintained a booth at the Southeastern Christian Educators Convention in Myrtle Beach, SC, giving over 3,000 educators a chance to learn about the youth programs of the National Rifle Association.
“I was overwhelmed that a national organization as prestigious as the National Rifle Association would validate and appreciate the efforts of my projects,” said Cox. “All of my projects were well received and there was no resistance when I presented the message of freedom and the Second Amendment to a large audience.”
To apply, students must first attend the national Youth Education Summit. Students then have eight months to work on a Grand Scholarship application with a portfolio that communicates their experience at the Summit and how it has contributed to their personal growth, or they may introduce an NRA program to their community. Many applicants selected both projects for their application and went so far as to introduce multiple NRA programs into their community. Applications were judged on quality, diversification, and quantity. All of the entries showed impressive characteristics of each individual. For more information about YES, contact Jeremy Greene at (800) 672-3888 ext. 1342, or by email at jgreene@nrahq.org.
This program is funded through state and national grants from The NRA Foundation. Much of the money is raised through Friends of NRA, a grassroots-fundraising program. The NRA Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization that raises tax-deductible contributions in support of a wide range of firearm-related public interest activities of the National Rifle Association of America and other organizations that defend and foster the Second Amendment rights of all law-abiding Americans. To get involved in Friends of NRA, visit www.nrafoundation.org/friends; for more information about The NRA Foundation, please call 877-NRA-GIVE.
