Sac County seeks essays for $500 scholarship contest

SACRAMENTO — The Sacramento County Office of Education is now accepting submissions for an essay contest designed to honor local military veterans. The winning high school student will receive a $500 college scholarship, courtesy of SAFE Credit Union.

The essay contest takes place in conjunction with Operation Recognition, a program of the Sacramento County Board of Education. Since 2002, the Board has honored the contributions of local veterans who left high school to serve in the U.S. military during World War II, the Korean War, or the Vietnam War. Qualifying veterans are able to receive their high school diplomas, along with qualifying Japanese American residents who were forced to leave high school due to World War II internment.

Contestants must be high school juniors or seniors who are currently attending public high schools in Sacramento County, including Galt. The completed essay, along with a cover letter, must be received by April 17.

The winning entrant must attend the school board meeting at 6:30 p.m. on May 15 to read his or her essay, join in honoring the diploma recipients, and receive the scholarship.

The 2018 theme is, “How a Veteran’s Courage Contributes to My Freedom.” Essays should be 400 to 500 words long, typed and double-spaced (titles and footnotes do not contribute to the word count), and no photos should be included. A cover letter should be attached containing the student’s name, home address, phone number, email address, name of high school and oneparagraph summarizing college and career goals.Essays will be judged on how well the student understood, developed, and presented the theme. Scores will be based equally on knowledge of the theme, structure/spelling/grammar, theme development and clarity of ideas.

Entries should be mailed to: Operation Recognition Scholarship Contest, SCOE Communications Office, P.O. Box 269003, Sacramento, 95826-9003. No electronic submissions will be accepted and contestants may only enter once.