Scholarships & Contests

*Scholarship/Competition Opportunities available for 7th graders through age 25

PRO-LIFE

  • Alex & Geline Williams VSHL (Virginia Society for Human Life) State Oratory Contest
    • Open to Current 11th & 12th Graders
    • Deadline Sunday, May 4, 2025
    • The annual Alex and Geline B. Williams Oratory Contest, sponsored by the Virginia Society for Human Life Educational Fund, encourages high schoolers to prepare and present a short speech on one of these topics: abortion, infanticide or euthanasia.  Contestants must be full-time students of Virginia schools (public or private) or Virginia homeschool students. Requested forms and speeches must be received by Sunday, May 4, 2025. For more information, please visit the VSHL website.

CATHOLIC COLLEGE

  • Associates of John Bosco Scholarship Opportunities
    • Open to Current High School Seniors through College Juniors
    • Deadline: May 19, 2025
    • The Associates of St. John Bosco is pleased to offer scholarships to undergraduate students who have demonstrated an intense desire to live out their faith on their college campus and who seek to serve the Church in some capacity after graduation. We offer three general scholarships in the amount of $4,000 and one scholarship, the Vincent T. Vaccaro Education Scholarship, in the amount of $6,000 to a student who will be engaged in education or work with young adults. Freshman scholarship funding may continue into the next three years if certain criteria are met and, of course, if funding is available, for potentially $16,000 to $24,000 in total scholarship funding!

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

  • USCCB Religious Liberty Essay Contest 2025
    • Open to current 11th & 12th Graders
    • Deadline: April 16, 2025
    • The first-place essay will be published Our Sunday Visitor, and the author will be awarded a $2,000 scholarship.
    • Second place will receive a $1,000 scholarship, and third place will receive a $500 scholarship.

CONSTITUTION

  • Scholarship: Rewarding Students For Investing In Themselves & Our Nation
    • Open to students age 16 or older
    • There are two opportunities per year to be awarded a scholarship!
      • Next two DEADLINES to apply:
        • July 31, 2025
        • January 31, 2026
    • You can earn up to $10,000 in scholarship money while strengthening your knowledge of Constitutional history!
    • Scholarships can be used to further the education of award recipients at universities, private high schools, and trade schools.
    • You may apply once per semester, however you are only eligible to receive one scholarship. So, if you applied and did not win a scholarship, you are eligible to apply for the next round or any round thereafter. 
    • 38 Winners Each Semester receive $2,000-$10,000 each!

The Scholarships/Contests Below are not updated for this year…

I have not had a chance to look into them (and am unsure if I will be able to) o update the information, but feel free to do so as submission deadlines may very well still be open for this year, or perhaps not even open yet!

If you do look into them and have information I can copy and paste to update these, please email me the information!

youth@straymonds.org

PRO-LIFE

CATHOLIC COLLEGE

  • Cardinal Newman Society Essay Scholarship Contest
    • Open to current 11th & 12th Graders
    • Deadline: February 18, 2025
    • Compete for a scholarship of $5,000 with the chance for up to $20,000!
    • The winner of the Contest will be awarded $5,000 toward the cost of attending one of the institutions recommended in The Newman Guide. The scholarship is made possible thanks to the generosity of Joseph and Ann Guiffre, supporters of the Newman Society and faithful Catholic education
    • Additionally, there is the opportunity for the winner of the Contest to be awarded $20,000 over the course of four years.