The Executive
Committee of the US & Canada Branch is pleased to announce
that we will again be offering our Scholarship Essay Contest
to the children and grandchildren of our Branch members. The
contest is open to any student between the ages of 17 and 23
years as of 1st January 2011 who will be attending college
this fall. An essay on any Scottish subject may be submitted
for consideration with the winner receiving a US $500
prize.
The deadline for the
electronic submission is 31stJanuary
2012, giving the students the fall semester to
complete their research. A new requirement for a bibliography
has been added as well as a requirement that all essays be
submitted electronically. Because there will be a panel of 3
judges to consider the essays, chaired by Meriel Bradford,
electronic submissions will facilitate the judging process.
Judging is anticipated to be complete by the end of February,
with payment of the award by 31st March
2012.
Voluntary donations
specifically earmarked for the Scholarship Fund are solicited
from our active members. As in the past, each Clan member who
contributes US$25 or more to the Scholarship Fund will receive
a CD which contains reproductions of many years of ―Clach na
Coileach - back to the historic beginning of our Clan’s annual
magazine.
This program is dedicated to
the generation of interest in Scottish subjects in general,
and in Clan MacThomas in particular, among members of the
younger generation who represent the future of our clan. It
offers the additional benefit of providing an opportunity for
present members to contribute to that future, and of engaging
the members in actively promoting clan participation.
Congratulations and a hearty thank you to our members for
their support of this important program for the future of Clan
MacThomas.
Submission of
Entries:
The
procedures for the submission of entries to the U.S. and
Canada Branch Scholarship Essay Contest are as
follows:
1.
The Branch
Scholarship of US$ 500.00 will be awarded to the student
who submits the best essay of approximately one thousand
words on any Scottish subject as judged by the
Scholarship Essay Contest panel of judges. Criteria for
assessing the essay will include accuracy, originality
and style.
2.
Any student
between the age of 17 and 23 years as of 1st January
2011, attending any school beyond the high school level,
who is the child or grandchild of a member in good
standing of the U.S. and Canada Branch of Clan MacThomas
is eligible.
3.
Submissions must
be original and created solely by the student. A
bibliography of 3 original sources, excluding
Encyclopedias, Wikipedia and Google as sources, should
be included.
4.
Submissions must
be accompanied by proof of enrolment in a post-secondary
institution. Letters from the Office of the Registrar
are acceptable.
5.
Submissions must
include the full name of the student, age and date of
birth of the student, the return postal address,
telephone number, and
e-mail
address.
6.
Submissions must
also indicate the relationship between the student and
the active member of the U.S. and Canada Branch of Clan
MacThomas.
7.
The submission
must be received by midnight eastern time 31st January
2012. The judges will submit their decision to the
Executive Committee by 28th February 2012 and the award
will be granted by 31st March 2012.
8.
Submissions must
be sent by email to Mrs Meriel Bradford in a .doc or
.txt format. Her email address can be found in the US
& Canada Branch section of Members Secure Area of
the Clan MacThomas website - link. (Please only use this link if you
have registered for a Log On for the Secure area).
9.
All submissions
should be accompanied by a photo of the author suitable
for publication and a short biography. The author agrees
to have the essay printed in the Branch newsletter and
placed on the Clan website if requested by the Executive
Committee.
10.
The decision of
the Scholarship Essay Contest judges will be final and
irrevocable. All submissions of essays to the Judges
shall remain confidential and not be published until the
winning essay is declared and published in the official
Branch
Newsletter.
