At our tenth annual Magical Evening fundraiser in 2018, we were pleased to announce the beginning of the Jonah Christensen Memorial Scholarship, an annual scholarship of $1000 to be given to one student each year to help fund their post-secondary studies. This scholarship was created by the Christensen family in memory and in celebration of Jonah’s kindness, curiosity, mischievousness, and energetic drive to live life to the fullest. We hope this annual award will encourage youth to reflect on these qualities as they look toward their future endeavours.
Applicants must…
- be in their final year of high school.
- be intending to attend a post-secondary institution in the 2020-2021 academic year that is a registered charity. (You can check here: https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/hacc/srch/pub/dsplyBscSrch?request_locale=en )
- (if possible) be able to attend the Magical Evening 2021 event to receive the award
2021 Jonah Christensen Memorial Scholarship:
Applicants will be required to submit a 750-word essay on the year’s topic by to [email protected], by the submission deadline.
This year’s essay question:
Describe a success or a setback you’ve had that precipitated a meaningful change of perspective in your life.
Note: Submissions in either English or French are accepted.
Application Format: Applications should be sent as a Word document or PDF to [email protected]. Please have the subject line “Scholarship Application” and include your name, age, phone number, current high school and intended post-secondary institution in the body of the email, not in the essay attachment.
The application period will be from September 1st, 2020 to March 31st, 2021. All applicants will receive a confirmation of submission. The winning applicant will be notified by May 15th, 2021.
The Selection Process:
All applicants will receive an email confirmation that we have received their application.
First Round – Qualification
- Any applications that do not meet our requirements, for example if the applicant is not attending a post-secondary institution registered as a charity or did not answer the essay question, will be rejected.
- All eligible essays will be assigned a random number to avoid bias and the Scholarship Administrator, Hannah Christensen, will read all eligible essays and grade them based on the following criteria:
- Creativity (/5)
- Style and organization (/3)
- Punctuation, grammar, spelling (/2)
- Content (/5)
- Tips: Make sure your essay is creative, concise, and clear. While you should make some mention of relevant extra-curricular activities and future goals, focus more on telling a compelling story than cramming in your entire résumé.
Final Round – Selection
- A final panel of the Christensen family and/or Celebrate the Child volunteers will read and evaluate the final 5 essays selected in the Second Round, and determine the final winner. The winning essay’s randomly assigned number will be connected back to the applicant’s contact information and the winner will be contacted.