State fair seeks 2013 scholarship applicants

MAT-SU — Students have until April 15 to apply for this year’s Alaska State Fair scholarships. All Alaska junior and senior high school students who plan to attend college or vocational school are eligible and encouraged to apply.

Applications should be mailed or hand-delivered to the Alaska State Fair, 2075 Glenn Hwy., Palmer, AK 99645, and must be received by 4 p.m., April 15.

This year, the fair will award a total of $6,500 in scholarships, including $2,000 for first place, $1,500 for second place and $1,000 for third place. The fair may also award up to four $500 honorable mention scholarships or increase the award amounts for the first, second or third place recipients. The recipients will be announced on or before May 1.

Students interested in applying for a 2013 scholarship must submit the following items:

• Cover letter, including student name, address, phone and email, school name and phone, counselor’s name and the name of the college or vocational school the student plans to attend.

• Extracurricular resume, including interests, clubs, community service and/or employment.

• Letter of recommendation.

• A photo that may be used for publicity purposes.

• Written essay (1,000 words or less) or creative project (audio, video, performance or visual arts, business plan, social media campaign, arts and crafts, photography, etc.).

Applicants should choose one of the following topics for the essay or creative project:

• How should the fair grow to serve all of Alaska?

• How can the fair showcase Alaska agriculture in future fairs?

• How would you use a 12-foot by 12-foot booth space at the fair to educate or entertain the public, raise awareness of issues or sell goods or services?

The fair continues to seek new ways to raise money for scholarships. In 2012, the fair supported Palmer Rotary’s first-ever Cabbage Classic Lottery, which gave fairgoers a chance to guess the weight of the winning cabbage in the Giant Cabbage Weigh-Off. The winner received half of the proceeds and the remainder was split between the fair and Rotary.

Last year, the fair awarded $7,500 to nine Alaska students. Recipients included Jasmine Masferrer of Wasilla, Austin Roberts of Fairbanks, Diloola A. Erickson of Galena, Elizabeth Wheatall of Anchorage, Eva Colberg of Palmer, Nathan Owens of Palmer, Devynn Maclure of Palmer, Haley Wangberg of Wasilla and Amy Roy of Palmer.

For more information, visit alaskastatefair.org or contact Kelly Larson at 746-7164 or marketing@alaskastatefair.org.