The Florida Association of Realtors is offering $41,000 in scholarship money to state high school seniors.
FAR’s Scholarship/Essay Contest for High School Seniors offers students a chance to win up to $6,500 in scholarship funding.
“Every day, Florida Realtors work to strengthen their communities and the Florida Association of Realtors’ scholarship/essay contest is just one example of their dedication,” says 2006 FAR President Mike Dooley. “We take great pride in our scholarship program, which helps young people to continue their educations and realize their dreams for the future.”
Now in its sixth year, FAR’s scholarship program benefits students from across the state, with prize money going to both the first- and second-place essays in each of the Association’s 13 districts in the state. Students turning in the top district-winning essays will each win a $1,500 scholarship prize while the second-place entries will each receive a $500 scholarship award. The 13 district-winning essays will go on to compete to win three $5,000 FAR scholarships on the statewide level, for a total of $41,000 in scholarship awards. All essays, along with an official Essay Cover Form, must be postmarked no later than March 17 and mailed to the Florida Association of Realtors, 7025 Augusta National Drive, P.O. Box 725025, Orlando, 32872-5025.
Entering the contest is easy. Students write a typed, double-spaced essay - 500 words or less - on the topic “How Does a Realtor Professional Benefit the Community?” This topic allows students the freedom to write about the wide range of Realtor professionals who work in a variety of fields, including residential brokerage, commercial brokerage, industrial and office brokerage, farm and land brokerage, real estate appraising, property management, land development and real estate counseling, to name just a few of the general specialties. Or essays may address such points as the benefits of homeownership to society, or to families on a personal level, or how the selling of commercial real estate encourages economic growth.
Know a student who may be interested? Tell him or her to check with the high school guidance office to obtain an application kit and essay cover form for FAR’s 2005-2006 Scholarship/Essay Contest for High School Seniors. Or go to the media section of FAR’s Media Center Web site (http://media.living.net) to download the scholarship/essay contest application kit, official cover form and list of FAR District Vice Presidents.
FAR’s statewide scholarship awards program is open only to high school seniors who reside in the state of Florida and plan on continuing their education at a college, university, technical school or other institution of higher learning.