Urban Ekonomics – Legacy Scholarship Chicago-GRIT by Natalie Vazquez
The Urban Ekonomics Project has sponsored a scholarship for Chicago Public School seniors who are interested in hard work and the promise of an excellent education. This scholarship was for students who were willing to go the extra mile and imagine opportunities that will allow them to achieve greatness in their near future. The administrators of this scholarship were looking for students who possess a constant thirst for education and knowledge because they want to provide students with the understanding that receiving an education is the true success in life. In order to get this education we need to go to college. The scholarship award is up to $2,000.00 and the submission deadline was March 25, 2016.
The eligibility criteria that was needed to be meet in order to qualify for this scholarship is as follows: CPS High School Senior (12th grade), an underrepresented Minority Student (African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asia, American/Pacific Islander or Hispanic American), and possess a 3.0 GPA (weighted).
The requirements for this scholarship were to watch and analyze the TED Talk by “Angela Lee Duckworth: The Key to Success? GRIT”. This short video was approximately six minutes and described why GRIT is important when thinking not only about college, but life overall. The scholarship applicant must then answer three supplemental questions. The first question asked the applicant “To discuss how well do you feel this talk on “GRIT” describes you?” The second question asked “In your own words, describe your personal definition of GRIT”. Finally, the third question was the essay question and it asked the applicant to imagine this scenario; “You have graduated college, and are now a young professional. You return to your high school to speak with students about your journey through college and into the professional world. A student raises their hand and asks, “What do you see as your legacy?” Please think about how you would answer this question by thinking through where you want to eventually be, and how your interactions with others mold your legacy.” The scholarship has asked our students to go above and beyond today and think about how they will change tomorrow.