Scholarship Nominees
Congratulations. If you are seeing this page, it should be because you are a nominee for one of our Scholarships.
Here's how we do things: (1) We do not have an Open Application process for our Scholarships. (2) In cases like this, we identify Scholarship Nominators. They are given a chance to Nominate a student (such as - You). Then, you are given a chance to go through the Nomination Process. The Nomination Process includes several steps. These steps typically will include: you engaging in a conversation through a series of e-mails back and forth with one of our volunteers, you submitting certain material (such as your transcript and financial need documentation) and a review of your social media. If you make it through that process, our organization's selectors will then consider your nomination. There is no cost to you to be a Nominee. To help improve your chances, we put together this page to explain what you can do to help yourself during the Nomination Process. It is frequently easiest to give you examples when other students have not done well -- so you know what to avoid doing & why.
KINDNESS & GRATITUDE
We are all volunteers. Every single minute we spend reading or responding to your notes is a minute we sacrifice away from our work and/or families (in addition to the time we've already sacrificed while raising the money that will fund your potential scholarship). Some Scholarship Nominees (SNs) send us notes that provide the information they need to send us, but that's all they write in their notes. Others will add things in their note - like "I hope you had a nice day." or "Thank you again for this opportunity." Given all the time and effort we put into this as volunteers -- if we can choose a student who is kind to us and expresses appreciation for our efforts - or - a student who is not kind to us & who does not express appreciation for our efforts, which one do you think we would choose? Being kind and expressing gratitude goes a long way.
CURIOSITY
One of our Priorities is "People who are Curious." If an SN is given a chance to ask us questions about us or our Foundation and does not have one single question, do you think they give the impression they are Curious - or - Not Curious? We are human beings, not an ATM machine. If one SN is making an effort to learn about us and from us -- and -- the other SN has zero questions for us & makes no effort to get to know us & instead just sees us as a 'checkbook' -- why would we pick the second one? Ask questions. Be curious. Treat this process as a TWO-WAY CONVERSATION -- not a ONE-SIDED INTERVIEW.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Our Scholars reflect on us. If one SN has a social media account that features posts about cars and cooking and pictures of animals and nature and their family -- and -- another SN has a social media account filled with profanity or mean and divisive comments, why would we pick the second one? And please know: An SN is not only judged by what he or she posts on social media. An SN is also rightfully judged by the type of comments they make on other people's posts as well as the posts they let other people post on the SN's page - just as we would all be judged if someone put profane messages on our kitchen wall and we didn't take the messages down from our kitchen wall. Why would we want to invest our name, our time and our money in a student who has a social media account with profane or divisive or offensive or inappropriate or insensitive material on it?
PROOFREAD
When the SNs participate in an email exchange with one of our volunteers, we want them to be relaxed and informal -- to be themselves and not put on an 'act'. Still, they should take the time to proofread the e-mails before they send them. After all, they are sending the e-mails to a group that is considering the possibility of providing support to help that student pay for their education. Why would we pick a student who doesn't think it's worth the effort to demonstrate what a good education they are getting by sending a well-written note? In general, given how much time we have spent raising the money, why would we pick a student who doesn't think it's worth the time to do the best they can during this process? If an SN thinks it's something they can or should do without putting a lot of thought and energy into it, why should we think they are worth all the thought and energy we put into it?
PROMPTNESS
When selecting Scholarship Recipients, we maintain a simple standard: Prompt without Exception. We don't consider any extenuating circumstances. We just ask ourselves: Did they respond promptly or not? If a response from an SN is not prompt, we will not give that SN a scholarship. Over the years, when they have not been prompt, some SNs have asked why we can't be more 'flexible' when they claim they had a 'good reason' why they did not respond promptly (such as a 'busy week' or 'final exams' or 'a vacation' or 'a death or illness in their family' or 'something happened at home'). There are several reasons why. Here are four of them:
(1) They knew the deal. In advance of the process getting underway, we make our Prompt without Exception standard very clear. So, when they chose to not respond promptly, they did so with the full knowledge that we don't make exceptions.
(2) If we are going to accept Exceptions to promptness, then we have to assess each Exception on a case by case basis. That would require us - volunteers who have already sacrificed tens of thousands of hours of time - to sacrifice even more time (assessing each Exception, confirming its validity & voting on whether to make an exception). If we can choose one Nominee whose delay costs us time - or - another Nominee who is always prompt without exception, thereby sparing us from wasting extra time assessing their promptness exception -- why would we choose the first one?
(3) In almost every case, even when an extenuating circumstance popped up, an SN *could* have responded promptly if they were willing to accept a slight inconvenience in their schedule. And here's the thing: If they fail to respond promptly, it will inconvenience us. In other words, one way or the other, someone will be inconvenienced - the SN or Us. This entire process is to benefit the SN -- not Us -- and we've already been inconvenienced many times (sacrificing time from work and family, missing weddings & funerals & vacations & holidays) to raise the money and manage this process. If there's one more inconvenience to deal with, why should we deal with yet another one instead of the student dealing with one? If we can choose an SN who is willing to incur an inconvenience in an effort to secure our support - or - choose an SN who wants us to incur yet another additional inconvenience in order to spare themselves one, why would we choose the second one?
(4) One Nominee always responds promptly to us. Another Nominee procrastinates over and over. Which one do you think seems to be more grateful for the opportunity and more eager to receive the scholarship?
(5) We don't want to invest our money & time in a student just for the sake of giving out a scholarship. We want to see the students succeed in school. Promptness is a major key to that success. And you will find that many people who lead successful organizations in different industries feel just as strongly about Promptness without Excuse or Exception. Here (below) is one example. It is a story about New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, one of the most successful sports coaches in history, and how he responds to players who show up late -- even if they have a seemingly legitimate reason. He maintains a simple standard: Either you are on time. Or you are not.
Here's how we do things: (1) We do not have an Open Application process for our Scholarships. (2) In cases like this, we identify Scholarship Nominators. They are given a chance to Nominate a student (such as - You). Then, you are given a chance to go through the Nomination Process. The Nomination Process includes several steps. These steps typically will include: you engaging in a conversation through a series of e-mails back and forth with one of our volunteers, you submitting certain material (such as your transcript and financial need documentation) and a review of your social media. If you make it through that process, our organization's selectors will then consider your nomination. There is no cost to you to be a Nominee. To help improve your chances, we put together this page to explain what you can do to help yourself during the Nomination Process. It is frequently easiest to give you examples when other students have not done well -- so you know what to avoid doing & why.
KINDNESS & GRATITUDE
We are all volunteers. Every single minute we spend reading or responding to your notes is a minute we sacrifice away from our work and/or families (in addition to the time we've already sacrificed while raising the money that will fund your potential scholarship). Some Scholarship Nominees (SNs) send us notes that provide the information they need to send us, but that's all they write in their notes. Others will add things in their note - like "I hope you had a nice day." or "Thank you again for this opportunity." Given all the time and effort we put into this as volunteers -- if we can choose a student who is kind to us and expresses appreciation for our efforts - or - a student who is not kind to us & who does not express appreciation for our efforts, which one do you think we would choose? Being kind and expressing gratitude goes a long way.
CURIOSITY
One of our Priorities is "People who are Curious." If an SN is given a chance to ask us questions about us or our Foundation and does not have one single question, do you think they give the impression they are Curious - or - Not Curious? We are human beings, not an ATM machine. If one SN is making an effort to learn about us and from us -- and -- the other SN has zero questions for us & makes no effort to get to know us & instead just sees us as a 'checkbook' -- why would we pick the second one? Ask questions. Be curious. Treat this process as a TWO-WAY CONVERSATION -- not a ONE-SIDED INTERVIEW.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Our Scholars reflect on us. If one SN has a social media account that features posts about cars and cooking and pictures of animals and nature and their family -- and -- another SN has a social media account filled with profanity or mean and divisive comments, why would we pick the second one? And please know: An SN is not only judged by what he or she posts on social media. An SN is also rightfully judged by the type of comments they make on other people's posts as well as the posts they let other people post on the SN's page - just as we would all be judged if someone put profane messages on our kitchen wall and we didn't take the messages down from our kitchen wall. Why would we want to invest our name, our time and our money in a student who has a social media account with profane or divisive or offensive or inappropriate or insensitive material on it?
PROOFREAD
When the SNs participate in an email exchange with one of our volunteers, we want them to be relaxed and informal -- to be themselves and not put on an 'act'. Still, they should take the time to proofread the e-mails before they send them. After all, they are sending the e-mails to a group that is considering the possibility of providing support to help that student pay for their education. Why would we pick a student who doesn't think it's worth the effort to demonstrate what a good education they are getting by sending a well-written note? In general, given how much time we have spent raising the money, why would we pick a student who doesn't think it's worth the time to do the best they can during this process? If an SN thinks it's something they can or should do without putting a lot of thought and energy into it, why should we think they are worth all the thought and energy we put into it?
PROMPTNESS
When selecting Scholarship Recipients, we maintain a simple standard: Prompt without Exception. We don't consider any extenuating circumstances. We just ask ourselves: Did they respond promptly or not? If a response from an SN is not prompt, we will not give that SN a scholarship. Over the years, when they have not been prompt, some SNs have asked why we can't be more 'flexible' when they claim they had a 'good reason' why they did not respond promptly (such as a 'busy week' or 'final exams' or 'a vacation' or 'a death or illness in their family' or 'something happened at home'). There are several reasons why. Here are four of them:
(1) They knew the deal. In advance of the process getting underway, we make our Prompt without Exception standard very clear. So, when they chose to not respond promptly, they did so with the full knowledge that we don't make exceptions.
(2) If we are going to accept Exceptions to promptness, then we have to assess each Exception on a case by case basis. That would require us - volunteers who have already sacrificed tens of thousands of hours of time - to sacrifice even more time (assessing each Exception, confirming its validity & voting on whether to make an exception). If we can choose one Nominee whose delay costs us time - or - another Nominee who is always prompt without exception, thereby sparing us from wasting extra time assessing their promptness exception -- why would we choose the first one?
(3) In almost every case, even when an extenuating circumstance popped up, an SN *could* have responded promptly if they were willing to accept a slight inconvenience in their schedule. And here's the thing: If they fail to respond promptly, it will inconvenience us. In other words, one way or the other, someone will be inconvenienced - the SN or Us. This entire process is to benefit the SN -- not Us -- and we've already been inconvenienced many times (sacrificing time from work and family, missing weddings & funerals & vacations & holidays) to raise the money and manage this process. If there's one more inconvenience to deal with, why should we deal with yet another one instead of the student dealing with one? If we can choose an SN who is willing to incur an inconvenience in an effort to secure our support - or - choose an SN who wants us to incur yet another additional inconvenience in order to spare themselves one, why would we choose the second one?
(4) One Nominee always responds promptly to us. Another Nominee procrastinates over and over. Which one do you think seems to be more grateful for the opportunity and more eager to receive the scholarship?
(5) We don't want to invest our money & time in a student just for the sake of giving out a scholarship. We want to see the students succeed in school. Promptness is a major key to that success. And you will find that many people who lead successful organizations in different industries feel just as strongly about Promptness without Excuse or Exception. Here (below) is one example. It is a story about New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, one of the most successful sports coaches in history, and how he responds to players who show up late -- even if they have a seemingly legitimate reason. He maintains a simple standard: Either you are on time. Or you are not.
Simply put, as an all volunteer group, if we are only able to give scholarships to a certain number of students, we want to choose ones who are kind & friendly & grateful, who are curious, who listen, who honor their commitments, who are prompt without exception and who would be proud to put in the time & effort to demonstrate they truly value this opportunity. To us, that makes a lot of sense.