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The Heart of the Game Scholarship

Funded by
user profile avatar
Ward Serrill
$5,333
1 winner$5,333
Awarded
Application Deadline
Aug 13, 2021
Winners Announced
Aug 21, 2021
Education Level
High School
5
Contributions

“There is always a silver lining in every moment if you look for it.” — Coach Bill Resler

The Heart of the Game is a critically acclaimed documentary that captures the passion and energy of a girls’ basketball team, the eccentricity of their unorthodox coach, and the incredible true story of one player’s fight to play the game she loves.

“An Oscar level piece of work” –Ebert and Roeper

Released by Miramax and narrated by Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, The Heart of the Game follows the Roosevelt Roughriders girls’ basketball team for six tumultuous seasons. It explores the drama and exhilaration of youth and the inspiration of a passionate coach whose lessons of self-esteem, confidence, and compassion go far beyond the court.

Ward Serrill, the award-winning director of The Heart of the Game, is creating the Heart of the Game Scholarship for high school seniors who graduated in 2021.

The Heart of the Game Scholarship is designed to support first-generation, female high school seniors from the class of 2021 who show passion and heart in their lives and who will be attending community college, a trade school, or a 4-year university in the fall of 2021.

To apply, watch the film, The Heart of the Game. You can access the film for free here with the password roughriders. After watching the film, please write a short essay about how you are pursuing “heart” in your life and in your future education plans.

Selection Criteria:
Published May 28, 2021
Essay Topic

Please watch the film, The Heart of the Game. You can access the film for free here with the password roughriders. After watching the film, please tell us about how are you pursuing "heart" in your life and about your educational plans.

400–600 words

Winning Application

TreKayla Clemmons
Roosevelt High SchoolSeattle, WA
I am pursuing heart in my life to fulfill a passion to become a business leader and entrepreneur. The "heart of the game" to me is to always strive to help others in whatever situation I find myself in. I graduated from Roosevelt High School and am now a freshman to be at Seattle Central College. The Heart of the Game is a very important movie to me because it is a great example on how important it is to follow your heart and passion as you face the many difficult obstacles in life. I also appeared in the movie as a small child! And each time I watch it as I got older I realize how heart-driven Darnellia Russell really is and how she continued to work throughout high school and beyond to overcome adversity. She could have given up many times along the path but didn’t. That has become a role model for me. I will persevere. I will keep putting myself back in the game until I achieve my dreams. The main pursuit in my life that I am passionate about is to become a creative content creator and brand ambassador for socially conscious clothing lines that primarily support women. I have started my own YouTube channel up and I make vlogs when I travel and meet other fascination people and change makers. As the movie shows I will also continuously build my “inner circle” of friends and associates to create a strong team around me to support my endeavors. I have learned we cannot make it in life alone. Once I get my associates degree in business at Seattle Central College and hopefully move on to a four-year college after that (finances allowing), I will start up my own small clothing business that I will promote across my robust social platforms. No matter how the game unfolds in my life, having a knowledge of business and accounting and management will help me become the leader I know I can become. This scholarship is important to me because right now I am working full tine to afford to go to school. I want to have the opportunity to develop the tools so that I can be the one hiring others. I want to build a business that at its core can help others in the world. I will be the first in my family to graduate and have such admiration for my mother who is on her own and works to support me and my sister. I see how she has developed strong devotion to help others by continuing to coach basketball, first at the community college level and now at AAU. In overcoming so many obstacles in my life, I have learned that challenges are my greatest friend. I learn the most from them and have come to understand the power of perseverance. Surviving and graduating during Covid was a unique challenge for our generation, but it has prepared me to face adversity and to survive and to become a role model to help others succeed as I am going to. It is all about heart and adapting and staying true to myself going forward. Thank you!

FAQ

When is the scholarship application deadline?

The application deadline is Aug 13, 2021. Winners will be announced on Aug 21, 2021.