Wittenberg University

Special Interest Award in Community Engagement

Overview: You will be immersed in Springfield, interacting with a broad cross section of the members of the community including business, government and community leaders, nonprofit agencies, and individual residents. As a Wittenberg student, you are able to lend unique expertise, creativity and energy to community projects. This award will provide you with the chance to apply the knowledge you have gained through the skills and abilities you will have strengthened during your time spent at Wittenberg to the greater community.

Mission: The Community Engagement Scholar program supports the Wittenberg mission by engaging student scholars in service to the community, developing in them a deeper sense of social awareness, increasing their understanding of service and leadership that advances the common good, helping them to discern their calling and become lifelong engaged citizens.

Critera: Criteria: Scholarships will be awarded to students who have maintained a cumulative high school GPA of 3.0 or higher, Special Interest Award in Community Engagement demonstrate a sustained commitment to community service, take initiative and leadership roles in conjunction with their service and display an interest in key civic and urban issues through direct involvement in their community.

Amount: $2,500 per year or $10,000 over four years.

Guidelines: Students must submit the Community Engagement Scholar Award application by January 15, write a personal essay exhibiting the criteria stipulated, and include two letters of recommendation from someone familiar the applicant’s community involvement and leadership. Upon acceptance to Wittenberg University, finalists will be selected for an interview.

Expectations: Community Engagement Scholars must complete 20 hours/semester of service to the greater Springfield community, participate in educational and enrichment activities, serve as advocates for community engagement on campus, design and implement a community engagement project and reflect on the connection between their experience and the liberal arts education. If all service expectations are met, the award is renewable annually based on maintaining a 2.75 cumulative GPA and good academic and social standing.

To complete the application to be considered for Community Engagement please follow the steps listed below.

Personal Identification Information:

*Full Name:	*Preferred Name

*Street Address:

*City:

*State:

*Zip Code:

*Home Phone:	*Cell Phone:

*Email Address	Parent Email Address

*required fields

Once you hit the submit button your form will be automatically submitted.

The following documents are required in order to complete your application. All materials must be sent to Assistant Director of Admission, Laura Pitney, by January 15.

INVOLVEMENT

Please provide a typed document that lists your school and community involvement for the last four years.  Include activities and experiences as well as any academic classes you have completed that are relevant to the scholarship(s) of interest.  Please include the following information:

• Name of activity/experience
• Dates of involvement
• Approximate number of hours contributed to the activity/experience
• Position(s) held
• Brief description of the activity/experience
  

Email this document to Laura Pitney at lpitney@wittenberg.edu

ESSAY

Please type a 2-page essay following the guidelines below:

Community Engagement Scholar Award Essay:

• Explain your interest in the Community Engagement Scholarship and why community engagement is important to you. 
• Describe a community engagement experience that significantly influenced your life and what you learned from participating in this engagement.

Email the essay to Laura Pitney at lpitney@wittenberg.edu

LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION

Please submit 2 letters of recommendation from different individuals familiar with your community engagement, leadership, and/or East Asian interest and involvement.  The same two letters may be used for review of more than one Special Interest Award.  We encourage you to ask a supervisor, teacher, or someone overseeing your involvement with experiences you write about in your essay(s).   Letters must be postmarked by January 15.  They may be e-mailed to Laura Pitney, Assistant Director of Admission, at lpitney@wittenberg.edu, faxed to the Office of Admission at (937) 327-6379, or mailed to the address below:

Wittenberg University
Office of Admission
ATTN: Laura Pitney
P.O. Box 720
Springfield, OH 45501