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Athletics Scholarship

Funded by
$500
1 winner$500
Awarded
Application Deadline
Apr 1, 2023
Winners Announced
May 30, 2023
Education Level
Any
Eligibility Requirements
Education Level:
High school senior, undergraduate, or graduate
Involvement:
Sports (at some time in your life)

Athletics in any form can have a significant impact on us as individuals. 

You may have been involved in sports and enjoyed working with a team and feeling like you’re part of a close-knit community, or you might like watching games with friends and family. Whatever the involvement may be - whether it’s the sport you played as a child or you’re pursuing an athletics-related career - there’s no doubt that athletics have shaped who you are. To celebrate these experiences in athletics, the Athletics Scholarship will award someone that recognizes the impact athletics have had on their life.

High school seniors, undergraduate students, and graduate students are eligible to apply if they have been involved in athletics at some point in their lives. To apply, write about how athletics has made a positive impact on your life.

Selection Criteria:
Ambition, Need, Boldest Bold.org Profile
Published December 1, 2022
Essay Topic

How have athletics impacted your life in a positive way?

400–600 words

Winning Application

Justice Beard
University of Missouri-St LouisSAINT LOUIS, MO
When people imagine sports, their minds fill with images of trophies, team celebrations, and the sounds of crowds cheering. These are great things, but they only account for a small portion of what it takes to play sports. I’ve been part of sports my whole life, specifically, I am a competitive swimmer. Like most athletes, I love to win, but it takes a lot of work to win. All the tough work I’ve invested has improved my life and character. Being an athlete has shaped my character. It has helped me become a more disciplined and independent person. Since I was about twelve, I’ve had practice at five am twice weekly. The only reason my parents would wake up was to drive me to practice. Everything else I had to do on my own. I wake myself up, make myself breakfast, and get ready to go, and I had to do it with no aid. While it felt like a chore initially, as I’ve grown, I’ve realized that being able to take care of myself has helped repair me for my life ahead. Once I get to college, my parents will not be there to make me breakfast, or wake me up for class, but it will not be a sudden change, because I’m already used to being independent. I can take care of myself because sports have pushed me to be that way. Competitions are the livelihood of sports and as a competitive swimmer, I’ve lived through many swim meets. Getting prepared for these meets takes self-discipline, another characteristic sports have pushed on me. While Your coaches can tell you what it takes to be ready for a competition, only you can control what you do. Improvement requires discipline. I’d love to be like other high schoolers and stay up late and go to parties, but I know I have practice in the morning and a swim meet next weekend. I do what is necessary to improve. While it’s tough, the payoff is worth it. My friends may call me a grandma for going to bed at nine, but other swimmers know me as a state champion. If I wasn’t a swimmer, I would not have learned self-discipline. Overall, being an athlete caused me to develop skills and characteristics that will help me in life. I’ve grown up being more independent than my non-athlete peers. This will help my transition to college life. Sports have caused me to have self-discipline. I’m already used to having to display self-control over my choices, because I’ve already learned how my choices can affect my life. Being an athlete has helped me become a more mature person and has helped prepare me for life beyond athletics.

FAQ

When is the scholarship application deadline?

The application deadline is Apr 1, 2023. Winners will be announced on May 30, 2023.