The results are in for the NH Mensa Education and Research Foundation (MERF) Scholarship Essay Contest!
Every year MERF sponsors a scholarship essay contest. The contest is open to any student who is enrolled in a degree program in an accredited U.S. institution of post-secondary education and who currently resides in Maine or New Hampshire (our local group’s area). Each applicant must write an essay which describes his or her career, vocational, or academic goals. Blind judging is done on three levels: local, regional, and national.
Not all Mensa local groups participate in the MERF Scholarship Essay Contest. A lot of hard work is necessary. Notices must be sent out to schools and the media. Essays must be scanned for eligibility. Each essay must be read and judged by at least 3 judges. The winning essays must then be sent on to be judged at the regional and national level. After a long wait for the regional and national judging there's the fun part, notifying the winners!
In spite of the fact that New Hampshire Mensa is a small group, we not only participate in the MERF Scholarship Essay Contest, we also sponsor 3 local group awards: A first place award of $400; A second place award of $200; And a third place award of $100.
Where do we get the money? From fund-raisers like the Scholarship Auction at the RG and the yard sale. If we don't collect enough money through fund-raisers, we either have to reduce the number or dollar amount of scholarships that we give, or we just find the money somewhere in the budget, if we can. We could this year, but there's no way of knowing if there will be enough money in the general budget to do it again next year. If you have any ideas for fund-raisers that you would like to participate in, let the ExComm know. The MERF Scholarship Essay Contest is one of the few things that we in New Hampshire Mensa do that really makes a difference, if only for a few deserving scholarship winners.
For the 2003-2004 NH MERF Scholarship Essay Contest, we had one national scholarship and TWO regional scholarships awarded to New Hampshire residents, as well as the three locally awarded scholarships. Our winners are:
1st Place Local New Hampshire
winner ($400) is Emily Elliott from Concord, NH.
Emily will receive her BS in Molecular and Cellular Biology at Connecticut
College in May 2005. She plans to pursue a Ph.D. after studying abroad for a
year.
2nd Place Local New Hampshire
winner ($200) is Melissa Hutchinson from Keene, NH.
Melissa is currently pursuing a Master’s of Science degree in Environmental
Studies at Antioch New England Graduate School. Upon graduation, she expects
to return to a career in environmental education.
3rd Place Local New Hampshire
winner ($100) is Melanie Lloyd from Concord, NH.
Melanie is graduating from Concord High School. She plans to study art and
biology at the University of Vermont
The National Scholarship Award Winner that competed in our local area:
The Rita Levine Memorial
Scholarship ($600) which is a restricted national scholarship award was
awarded to Melissa Hutchinson of Keene, NH. Melissa is currently
pursuing a Master’s of Science degree in Environmental Studies at Antioch
New England Graduate School. Upon graduation, she expects to return to a
career in environmental education.
The two Regional Scholarship Award Winners that competed in our local area:
The Karen Cooper Memorial
Scholarship ($300) was awarded to Emily Elliott of Concord, NH.
Emily will receive her BS in Molecular and Cellular Biology at Connecticut
College in May 2005. She plans to pursue a Ph.D. after studying abroad for a
year.
The Grosswirth-Salny Scholarship ($500) was awarded to Matthew Cosgro of Nashua, NH. Matthew is graduating from Nashua High School North. He plans to study electrical/computer engineering at Western New England College.