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First Gen Proud Essay Contest

The Department of English is excited to announce our Inaugural 1st GEN PROUD ESSAY CONTEST!

This contest showcases the achievements of our first-generation students at all stages of their academic careers. We invite first-generation students to submit short personal essay that respond to the following prompt:

What does First Gen Proud mean to you? What makes you proud to be a first-generation college student? What strengths do you have as a first-gen student and how have your experiences supported your academic career?

Essay submissions should be between 500-700 words. Submissions will be blind reviewed by faculty judges from the Department of English. Two prizes will be awarded at the undergraduate level; One prize will be awarded at the graduate level.

 


Eligibility

Students must be 1st generation college students to apply
Only 1 submission per student

Submission Deadline

Wednesday, April 12, 2023, at 11:59pm CDT

Awards Ceremony

Wednesday, April 26, 2023, from 5-6pm


Submission Portal Opens March 28

A first-generation student is someone whose parents/guardians did not complete a four-year college degree or a student raised by a single parent/guardian who did not complete a four-year college.