Since its inception in 2010, the Azalea Festival Youth Art Contest has showcased thousands of budding young artists and their artistic talents. Children all across the state of North Carolina – grades K-12, home-schooled, private schooled, or public schooled are invited to participate. We receive hundreds of entries each year.

Contest Deadline: January 28th.

Youth Art Contest Application

Scholarship Princess Pageant and Leadership Training Program: For high school junior females: over $12,000 is given away in college scholarships annually. This is a non-talent pageant –judging is primarily based on a private interview with judges the morning of the pageant. Participants work on Sunday afternoons all of January and February to learn interviewing and public speaking skills. The top five winners of the Pageant have the option to become the Festival Princess and Court. The Pageant is Saturday, March 8th. First meeting is Sunday, January 5th at 2pm at the First Baptist Activity Center. Students and parents may show up to this meeting to get more information.

Share this link with students to sign up for more information: https://forms.gle/UNdKSRx276pm4bRWA

- $1,000 - 1 Award (Deadline: January 31, 2025)

To be eligible for the scholarship a student must:

A) Be a high school junior and plan on graduating in 2026.

B) Plan on enrolling at an accredited college or university in the Fall of 2026.

Applications can be found by going to:

Apply Here

Who? Grades 9-11

What is it? The Carson Scholarship fund gives 500 scholarships a year to students in grades 4-11. More information at carsonscholars.org

Scholarship Amount? $1000 (payable upon entrance to a 4 yr college/university)

Do you qualify? You must have a weighted GPA of 3.75 (only counting English, Math, Science & Social Studies classes)

Each school can nominate 1 student for consideration.

How do I apply? Submit the following:

1. Resume focusing on community service - Here are the notes from the Carson Scholars Fund about their expectations for community service: Carson Community Service

2. Essay responding to one of these two prompts for grades 9-11: (650-750 words)

• Describe a time when you took the initiative to solve a problem in your school or community. How did you inspire others to get involved, and what was the outcome? What challenges did you face, and how did you overcome them?
• What are your passions, and how will this scholarship help you pursue them?

Please submit your application to my Scholarship/Competition Google Classroom.

Join Code: 7vqvgrq

Deadline: Tuesday, November 12th.

A parent and former students will be there to provide insight and answer questions.

Scholarship Value: $10,000

Awards Available: 40

Award Deadline: Jan 31, 2025

Since its inception in 1992, more than 450,000 students from across the United States and Canada have participated in Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision. It’s a fun and engaging program that can inspire a lifelong love of science, technology and innovation for students and teachers alike.

What is ExploraVision?

The ExploraVision competition for K-12 students engages the next generation in real-world problem-solving with a strong emphasis on STEM. ExploraVision challenges students envision and communicate new technology 10 or more years in the future through collaborative brainstorming and research of current science and technology.

ExploraVision is a science competition that goes beyond the typical student science competition and into what it takes to bring ideas to reality. A teacher will sponsor and lead his/her students as they work in groups of 2 – 4 to simulate real research and development. A teacher will guide his or her students as they pick a current technology, research it, envision what it might look like in 10 or more years, and describe the development steps, pros & cons, and obstacles. Past winners have envisioned technologies ranging from a hand-held food allergen detector to a new device to help people who have lost limbs regain movement in real-time.

Eligibility

All projects must meet the following requirements:

• Any project previously awarded a prize in another competition may not be submitted

• Any student who was selected as a regional or national finalist in ExploraVision can only compete in subsequent years with a new team — i.e., with students who have not previously been selected as ExploraVision regional or national finalists

• Students enter as a team of 2-4 students with a teacher/coach and optional mentor (no individual entries)

• For more information, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions page.

High School Level Category (Grades 10 – 12)

Requirements

Each student may only submit one project via online per year. However, each teacher/coach can participate in multiple projects per year. Each complete project must consist of:

• Enter your projects via online.*

• An abstract (150 words max.)

• The project description (11 pages max.)

• Bibliography

• Five sample Web pages

Please follow the guidelines in the project format section listed by grade level category. Submission materials will not be returned. Please retain a copy for your records. You may photocopy any part of the submission materials.

How to Apply:

Go To Scholarship Application

UNC School of the Arts (UNCSA) Visual Arts Program is a residential program designed for high school juniors and seniors who have an artistic interest, dedication and enthusiasm they wish to pursue in a structured course of study. Learn more about the program.

Tuition is provided free of charge for in-state high school students, and the majority of their other educational costs (e.g., textbooks, health and wellness services, room and meal plan, activities, etc.) are covered by the North Carolina High School Artists Grant. Learn more about tuition and financial aid.

Rising high school juniors or seniors are encouraged to apply here.

Application Fee Deadline: January 15th

This year’s Coolidge Scholarship application deadline is now just six weeks away – Wednesday, December 11, 2024 at 5:00 PM Pacific time.

The Coolidge Scholarship is a full-ride, four-year, merit scholarship that may be used by recipients for undergraduate study at any accredited college or university in the United States. Any current high school junior who plans to enroll in college in the fall of 2026 and is an American citizen or legal permanent resident is eligible to apply (current high school seniors are not eligible to apply). Winners may use the scholarship to pursue any academic major. Academic excellence is the primary criterion considered by the Coolidge Scholarship. Secondary criteria include an interest in public policy and an appreciation of the values President Coolidge championed. Successful candidates will also demonstrate humility and have a record of genuine service to their communities. A complete description of the scholarship’s criteria is available here.

The competition for the Coolidge Scholarship is significant -- only a few new Coolidge Scholarships are awarded each year from a pool of candidates that spans the entire country. The Coolidge Foundation invites one hundred of the top Coolidge Scholarship applicants to participate in the Coolidge Senators Program, which includes an all-expenses-paid Summit and a $1,000 scholarship. Scholarship applicants are automatically considered for the Senators Program.

Alert: the application requires that candidates read President Coolidge’s Autobiography and complete a few other reading assignments. Again, please note the submission deadline: 5:00 PM Pacific time, Wednesday, December 11, 2024.

www.coolidgescholars.org

The HOBY Leadership Seminar is a 3-day leadership program for current Sophomores held each June in Raleigh at NCSU. HOBY Ambassadors have an opportunity to develop their critical thinking skills, learn about their personal leadership styles, and form an appreciation for community service. They attend panel sessions featuring prominent speakers from our government, businesses, media, and educational communities. They participate in leadership development workshops and activities. HOBY Ambassadors also participate in a community service project and learn how they can lead in service in their own communities. As a result of their experiences, the high school Ambassadors return to their schools and communities eager to make a difference and share what they have learned. The North Carolina HOBY Leadership Seminar will take place over a weekend in June 2025, and one to two 10th graders from New Hanover High School will be selected to attend. To learn more, visit www.hoby.org.

One key item I want to highlight: NOMINEES DO NOT HAVE TO GET THE BEST GRADES ALL THE TIME. There is no GPA requirement for this nomination or event, so if you'd like to apply but don't have the best grades, that's ok!

Please submit your application to my Scholarship/Competition Google Classroom. Join Code: gtbbuf3 I will also accept applications per my email at (Jennifer.Crudeli@nhcs.net)

Deadline: November 15th.

Hoggard HOBY Application

Engage In Global Food Security: Through NC State's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and North Carolina 4-H, along with national partners, high school youth are invited to explore these tremendous opportunities that will challenge them to explore our world and consider what it means to be a global citizen and the role they can play in making our best, better.

All high school youth are invited to join us for the 2025 North Carolina Youth Institute, an exceptional opportunity that ignites a passion for solving global hunger through an engaging exploration of agriculture and food systems.

The North Carolina Youth Institute is an educational initiative of the World Food Prize Foundation and is designed to spark emerging leaders in developing innovative solutions for our world’s most pressing grand challenges surrounding feeding a growing population. Register now and read more here.

Youth Legislative Assembly (YLA) is a mock legislative session where high school students voice their opinions and vote on issues concerning local, state and national government.

The conference allows high school students an opportunity to gain a better understanding of the workings of local, state, and national government. Active participation in YLA increases the students' confidence and ability to debate current issues. Any high school student in good standing at a public, private, charter, or home school in North Carolina is eligible to participate in YLA. Just complete the student application; you do not have to have a member of the NC General Assembly to sponsor you to participate in the Youth Legislative Assembly.

$400 Early bird price or $450 regular

More Information and the application

UNCW is excited to launch the 2025-2026 MI CASA application for Cohort 16! The application opens Friday, October 4th, 2024, and closes January 31st, 2025. This opportunity is for current 10th graders who identify as Latinx/Hispanic.

The goal of this two-year program is to identify high achieving Hispanic students from local high schools who wish to further their education in universities like UNCW. During this college preparatory process, high school mentees and UNCW mentors foster a stronger sense of community.

MI CASA serves as a comprehensive support program that provides mentoring, college preparation seminars, tutoring, community service, and cultural enrichment activities to help high school mentees become compelling candidates for college admission and scholarship awards.

Click Here for more Information and to Apply

Contest Topic: Describe and analyze an act of political courage by a US elected official who served during or after 1917.

To learn more about political courage, visit Contest Information and FAQs.

All submissions must adhere to contest requirements.

Recognition and Awards: First-place: $10,000 Second-place: $3,000 Five Finalists: $1,000 each Ten Semi-finalists: $100 each

Deadline: January 17, 2025

Join us for a webinar featuring Brandon Mack, a former Admissions Officer at Rice University, who’ll share insider tips to strengthen your college applications.

U.S. News x CollegeAdvisor: How to Boost Your College Admissions Odds with Rice University AO
Date: 11/11
Time: 8 pm ET

Scholarship Value: $40,000

Awards Available: 400

Award Deadline: Dec 19, 2024

The Amazon Future Engineer program will award 400 students up to $40,000 each toward college expenses, paired with opportunities to intern at Amazon.

Eligibility Requirements

• Be a high school senior in the U.S. who is currently enrolled in or who has completed a high school or college dual degree course where computer science, engineering, or robotics is the subject. Students who have not taken this course can opt-in to take an assessment offered by Amazon.

• Be planning to attain a bachelor’s degree in computer science, software engineering, computer engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, robotics, or other computer science-related field of study from an accredited 4-year college or from a 2-year college with the intent to transfer to a 4-year college.

• Must be authorized to work in the US. Example: Employment Authorization Document holder, Permanent Resident, or US Citizen.

• Have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.3 on a 4.0 scale (or its equivalent).

• Must demonstrate financial need.

How to Apply:

Go To Scholarship Application

Join NCWF Lower Cape Fear Wildlife Chapter at the Cape Fear River Watch cleanup. More details to come!

November Second Saturday Cleanup with Cape Fear River Watch

Saturday, November 9 from 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Check the calendar for specific location and click the link on the date to register.

Volunteers needed for Dec 8!

We are thrilled to announce that volunteer opportunities are now available on Saturdays at our Wilmington branch! This is a perfect chance for families, neighbors, and friends to come together, give back, and make a positive impact in our community. Bring your loved ones and enjoy a fulfilling weekend while helping those in need. We encourage you to sign up and spread the word!

You can reserve your spot by following this direct link: Sign Up Here

Email: jennifer.crudeli@nhcs.net

AHS Office: 405

Hoggard Office: 104B