Nick Begich Alaskan Scholarships
Scholarship Sponsored by Nick Begich Scholarship Intern Fund
Introduction and timeline
- All applications — including scholarship, internship, and fellowship submissions — must be filed by February each year. The Fund’s Board of Directors reviews all entries, and award recipients are announced in April, frequently timed to coincide with the late Congressman’s birthday.
- About the Fund: Established in 1977, the scholarship program honors the legacy of the late Alaskan Congressman Nicholas J. Begich. Mr. Begich arrived in Alaska in 1956 as a teacher and believed strongly that education is both a right and a privilege that should be accessible to everyone.
Who is eligible
- Applicants must be residents of Alaska.
- The Board will only consider candidates planning careers in education, government, or public service. Applicants pursuing other professional areas (for example, medicine, nursing, or aviation) are not eligible.
Application requirements
- Follow the application instructions carefully. You may attach supporting materials—such as a list of extracurricular activities (volunteer work, employment, athletics, clubs, etc.) and memberships in organizations—however no more than three pages of supplemental documents will be accepted.
- Include two current letters of recommendation with your packet:
1) One from a teacher, school counselor, employer, or community activist.
2) One from a peer, friend, or colleague.
- Essay: Submit a separate sheet containing a 500-word statement describing your goals, the reasons you are applying, and any other information that would help the Board evaluate your candidacy.
- If applying for an education scholarship: explain why you want a career in education OR describe how a teacher affected your life and how that experience influenced your decision to pursue teaching.
- If applying for a scholarship in political science, government, or public service: describe a figure in the contemporary or historical political sphere (local, state, or national) you most admire and why; OR, if you were running for public office today, set out your platform; OR, if you were providing a public service today, explain the motivations that would drive you.
Transcripts and academic standard
- Submit transcripts as follows:
- High school transcript for applicants who are incoming college freshmen.
- College transcript for applicants who are college sophomores, juniors, or seniors.
- Transcripts may be included with your application or sent directly from the school. If you include a transcript, it must be an official sealed copy from the registrar’s office.
- A minimum grade average of “C” for the previous school year is required.
Notes
- Read and follow all instructions carefully to ensure your application will be considered.
- Applications outside the specified fields (education, government, public service) will not be reviewed by the Board.