1st Place Winner Hannah Buck receives her scholarship during the 2014 Essay Contest Presentation.

For 35 years, the St. Joseph-Benton Harbor Rotary Club has sponsored an Essay Contest. The contest was originally only offered to students within the nominal geographic areas of the St. Joe-Benton Harbor Rotary Club. In 2010, we partnered with Berrien RESA and opened the contest up to one senior from each high school in Berrien County and one home schooled senior. Each school nominates a senior to represent their community in the contest.

This contest offers an opportunity for students to demonstrate their social studies and English arts skills.  Students are asked to compose a compelling essay about a current social topic in a timed setting. The topic is derived from current high school social studies content expectations and is shared with the contestants in December of each year. Scholarships are awarded to the top three essay writers.

Participating students report to Berrien RESA on a specified date in February of each year to write their essay. Judges include members of the St. Joseph-Benton Harbor Rotary Club and Berrien RESA staff members. Winners are identified by early April of each year and scholarships are formally presented to winning students at a luncheon in April of each year.

For more information, please visit www.berrienresa.org.