Essay Contest

All entries for the 2009 OCPA Essay Contest must be postmarked or emailed to ocpa@ocpathink.org by February 9th, 2009. Download the entry form now!

Students are asked to answer the following question:

"How do you define civic responsibility and why is it important to the future of our country?"

Criteria:

Essay entries will be judged on the following criteria:

• Grammer, spelling, and composition.
• How well the student answers the question and provides supporting evidence.
• Quality, clarity, and creativity of ideas.
• Must be typed and double-spaced.

Rules

• All entrants must be an Oklahoma high school senior enrolled in a public, private, or home school.
• Essays must contain between 1,000 to 1,250 words.
• Prizes come in the form of scholarships, which will be submitted to the university or college of your choice, but must be claimed during the 2009-2010 school year.
• Only one entry per student.

Judges:

• Mrs. Mary Lou Avery, member of the OCPA board of trustees 

• Rep. Joe Dorman, D-Rush Springs, Oklahoma State House District 65 

• Dr. J. Rufus Fears, professor of classics, University of Oklahoma 

• Sen. Clark Jolley, OK State Senate
  

• Mr. Reid Mullins, KTOK 1000-AM talk radio host of “Mullins in the Morning” 

• Mrs. Melissa Sandefer, member of the OCPA Board of Trustees

Matching Scholarship Opportunities:

In addition to the tuition scholarships presented to the winners by OCPA, which are applicable to any college or university, select schools in Oklahoma have offered to match the OCPA prizes at varying levels.

Winners, in order to claim the potential matching scholarships, must meet all enrollment and ongoing academic requirements of that particular institution.

	Bacone College (BC) is offering a matching tuition scholarship up to $2,000 or 45% of Bacone College current tuition. Renewable up to four years. Winners must meet all enrollment and ongoing academic requirements for that institution.
	Northwestern Oklahoma State University (NWOSU) is offering a $1,250 scholarship to the contest winner. Winner must meet all enrollment and ongoing academic requirements for that institution.
	Oklahoma Christian University (OC) will match OCPA’s five prize amounts for winners who attend OC. Winners must meet all enrollment and ongoing academic requirements for that institution.
	Oklahoma City Community College (OCCC) will match OCPA’s prize amounts, in the form of tuition assistance, for as many as five winners of the Citizenship Essay Contest who attend OCCC following high school graduation. The scholarships are renewable each year, enabling a student to be awarded the tuition waiver annually. Winners must meet all enrollment requirements and maintain a minimum of 3.0 GPA and be enrolled in at least three credit hours each semester to maintain eligibility.
	Oklahoma City University's (OCU) Meinders School of Business will match OCPA’s five prize amounts for winners who enroll in the business school at OCU. Winners must meet all enrollment and ongoing academic requirements for that institution.
	Oklahoma Panhandle State University (OPSU) will match OCPA's five prize amounts for winners who attend OPSU. Winners must meet all enrollment and ongoing academic requirements for that institution.
	Southwestern Christian University (SCU) in Bethany is offering to award one winner a matching scholarship in the amount of $1,000 for the first two semester’s attendance at SCU. Preference will be given in order of the contest’s final ranking. The winner must meet all enrollment and ongoing academic requirements for that institution.
	Oklahoma Wesleyan University (OWU) will match OCPA’s five prize amounts for winners who attend OWU. Winners must meet all enrollment and ongoing academic requirements for that institution.
	Rose State College (RSC) will match OCPA’s five prize amounts for winners who attend RSC. Winners must meet all enrollment and ongoing academic requirements for that institution.
	Southeastern Oklahoma State University (SOSU) is offering to award the winners a resident tuition waiver scholarship which totals $1,000 to all five winners of the Essay Contest who attend that college. The winner must meet all enrollment and ongoing academic requirements for that institution.
	Southwestern Christian University (SCU) in Bethany is offering to award one winner a matching scholarship in the amount of $1,000 for the first two semester’s attendance at SCU. Preference will be given in order of the contest’s final ranking. The winner must meet all enrollment and ongoing academic requirements for that institution.
	Southern Nazarene University (SNU) will match OCPA’s five prize amounts for winners who attend SNU. Winners must meet all enrollment and ongoing academic requirements for that institution.
	University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (USAO) will match OCPA's five prize amounts for winners who attend USAO. The scholarships will be spread over four semesters. Winners must meet all enrollment and ongoing academic requirements for that institution.
	Western Oklahoma State College (WOSC) is offering to award the winners a fee waiver scholarship which totals $1,000 to all five winners of the Essay Contest who attend that college. This scholarship will provide $250 for each of the four semesters that the student attends WOSC. The winner must meet all enrollment and ongoing academic requirements for that institution