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Spring 2015 | Vol. 47, Issue 3 | www.prssa.org/FORUM
Think You Have No Chance of Winning a PRSSA Scholarship?
Think Again.
BY ANDREA GILS
PRSA St. Louis Social Manager
PRSSA and the PRSA Foundation offer more than 15 awards
and scholarships, worth more than
$30,000 combined, to its members. Unfortunately, not everyone
takes advantage of such a great
benefit. Doing extra “paperwork”
during the school year may not be
enticing. However, from personal
experience I can say that PRSSA’s
scholarship application process
is not hard. Typically, the process
involves a couple of letters of recommendation, a short application
form including an essay, an additional essay answering a prompt
and your adviser’s signature.
With that said, below is some
advice to help with the applications:
• Review all the scholarships and
select those you qualify for
• Make a list of what you need for
each application and a timeline
with deadlines
• Ask for letters of recommendation in advance
• Research the person who started
the scholarship fund or who the
award honors
• Let your passion show in your
application and essays
• Talk to past winners — they can
give you insights on what winning applications include
• Proofread as much as you can
There’s still time to get
published in Progressions.
If interested, email
Publications Editor in Chief
Laura Daronatsy at
[email protected]
Applying is not a one-time
process. Since I became a PRSSA
member in 2012, I applied for at
least one scholarship every year.
One of those years, I applied to
more than 10 at the same time. I
did not win any scholarships in
my first round of applications but
I did win a grant for the PRSSA
National Conference. The following year I won the PRSA Diversity Multicultural Scholarship and
the year after, the Marcia
Silverman Minority Student
Award. This is proof that if you
apply for the first time and do not
win, you should not feel disappointed. It is an opportunity to
take the application, review it
and reassess your efforts for the
upcoming year. Eventually, the
applications will be easier to complete.
With effort and dedication,
any member can find his or her
way into completing a PRSSA
scholarship application. And those
who are fortunate enough to win
must remember the responsibility that comes with exemplifying
the values the scholarship stands
for. Moreover, it’s important not
to let the effort, enthusiasm and
promises of the application fade
away. Best of luck as you apply
this year.
PRSA Board member Sonja Popp-