You’re a college-bound high school junior or
senior, but your parents’ 401K has imploded and the ongoing credit
crunch is making it tougher to take out student loans. So what do you do?
You do what you’ve been doing to teachers, coaches, and prospective
prom dates for the past three or four years: you suck up. Illinois Dollars
for Scholars, a not-for-profit group, is holding its annual Lincolnland
Legends essay contest in which participants nominate community leaders
who they believe reflect the “courage, vision, ambition,
compassion, decision-making, etc.” of the contest’s namesake
and soon-to-be birthday boy, Abraham Lincoln.
Entries are judged by colleges and universities across
the state, says Illinois Dollars for Scholars executive director Dick Dystrup. A winning essay,
he notes, clearly illustrates how legend nominees exhibit “key
Lincoln traits.” It also helps to think outside of the box. “A
lot of times, they love to nominate teachers because they’re familiar
and information on them is easy to find. What’s tougher is to get out
there and pick someone they really don’t know a lot about,”
Dystrup says.
Contest winners — up to 19, one each from each
of Illinois’ congressional districts —receive scholarships of
$4,000 spread out over four years. The top two essays in the state receive
$12,000 and $8,000 for first and second place, respectively, also
distributed over four years. Essays should be between 750 to 1,000 words,
but Dystrup says longer pieces tend to fare better. Entries must be
postmarked by Dec. 1, 2008. Winners and their legend nominees will be
recognized at an awards gala in Springfield next fall. Visit
www.illinoisdollarsforscholars.org for more information.
This article appears in Oct 16-22, 2008.
