Annual FSPW scholarship contest features stories about wild country
Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness recently opened their annual scholarship essay competition for entries. Graduating seniors from high schools in the three counties encompassing the Scotchman Peaks, as well as home-schooled seniors, are invited to submit essays on the theme “A most memorable wilderness experience.”
“We have used this theme for the past few years,” FSPW program coordinator Sandy Compton notes. “It consistently produces some great stories about personal experiences in wild countries. I look forward to reading these every years.”
There is no grade-point average or college entrance requirement for this competition. Winners in each high school will receive a $300 cash prize to be spent in any manner they choose. An additional $300 will be awarded to the best overall essay for the 2016 competition.
The essays may be a first-hand account of an experience of the author or an account of a story related to the author by a friend or relative. The experience may have happened in any Wilderness, designated or not, and must portray traditional wilderness activities such as backpacking, camping, hunting, fishing, berry picking, or horseback riding.
Seniors from Sandpoint, Lake Pend Oreille, Forrest M. Bird Charter, Clark Fork, Libby, Troy, Noxon and Thompson Falls High Schools or home-school seniors from Bonner County, Idaho or Sanders or Lincoln Counties, Montana are encouraged to apply. Essays will also be posted to the FSPW website and may also appear in local papers as part of the FSPW Voices in the Wilderness project. Deadline for entry is April 15, 2016. The entry form can be downloaded at www.scotchmanpeaks.org/pdfs/2016FSPWScholarshipApplication.pdf or acquired from the student counselors at the respective high schools.
