Local students have an opportunity to compete for scholarships through the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ (VFW) Voice of Democracy competition.
Open to high school students in grades nine through 12, the competition requires participants to write and record an original, three- to five-minute audio essay in English. This year’s theme is “What a Veteran Taught Me About America.”
Entries must include an MP3 recording, a typed essay and a completed entry form and must be received by a participating VFW Post by midnight Oct. 31.
Essays must be the student’s original work. Inappropriate use of artificial intelligence tools is prohibited.
Judging is based on originality (35 points), delivery (35 points) and content (30 points). Winners may advance from the post level to district, state and national competition.
Established in 1947, the program awards scholarships and incentives at the local, district, state and national levels. Each year, nearly 26,000 students compete for more than $2 million in awards.
Students can contact their local VFW Post for submission instructions or visit vfw.org/FindaPost to locate a participating post. Questions may also be emailed to youthscholarships@vfw.org.
