January 17, 2020
Fair to Award $7,500 in Scholarships
Alaska High School Students Encouraged to Apply by March 30
Palmer, Alaska – The Alaska State Fair invites Alaska high school students to apply for a 2020 Fair scholarship. The Fair will award $7,500 in scholarships to five students this year. All Alaska high school students planning to attend college or vocational school are encouraged to apply. The application deadline is Monday, March 30, 2020, at 4:30 p.m.
The 2020 scholarship awards include $3,000 for first place, $2,000 for second place, $1,500 for third place, and two honorable mentions of $500 each. Every student who submits a completed application will also receive two free admissions to the 2020 Fair.
All Alaska junior and senior high school students who plan to attend college or vocational school are eligible to apply. Students who applied last year should prepare a new application, as resubmissions from the previous year will be disqualified.
Applications should include:
• Cover letter including student’s name, address, phone and email, school name and phone, counselor’s name, and the name of the college or vocational school he or she plans to attend
• Extracurricular resume including interests, clubs, community service and/or employment
• One letter of recommendation
• A photo that may be used for publicity purposes
• Written essay (1,000 words or less) or creative project (audio, video, performance or visual arts, business plan, social media campaign, arts and crafts, photography, etc.). Please note that DVDs will not be accepted. Students should instead submit videos through the application on the Fair’s website.
The written essay or creative project should address one of the following topics:
• In light of the Fair’s mission statement, how can the Fair have a greater benefit on your community or in the state of Alaska?
• The Alaska State Fair is always looking for innovative and fun events, activities and contests that are free with fair admission to fairgoers. Create a new event, activity or contest that has minimal cost for the Fair.
• The Alaska State Fair’s primary purpose is to educate fairgoers. How could the Fair improve its educational programming to be more relevant to youth?
• How would you use a 12-foot by 12-foot booth space at the Fair to start your own business or to sell goods or services?
Ideas submitted become the property of the Alaska State Fair. Completed applications should be mailed or delivered to the Alaska State Fair, 2075 Glenn Hwy., Palmer, Alaska 99645 no later than 4:30 p.m. on Monday, March 30, 2020.
In 2019, the Fair awarded five scholarships to Alaska high school students: Sofia Main of Anchorage, Maria Parez of Anchorage, Collin Herbert of Palmer, Citshiab Yang of Anchorage, and Wyatt Chadwick of Palmer.
For more information, visit alaskastatefair.org or contact Kelly Larson, Fair director of community and corporate relations, at 907.746.7164 or kelly@alaskastatefair.org.
