2009 Contest

Prize:  $2,000

$1,500 sent directly to the winner’s school for tuition

   $500 given to the winner for discretionary expenses

 

Requirements: 

 

• Be a graduating senior enrolled at Carle Place High School (CPHS)

• Be enrolled in either a vocational school or post-secondary institution by September 2009, such as a community college or four-year undergraduate college or university

• Submit application

• Provide a one-page personal statement

• Submit an essay response to the two posted questions

• Be prepared to support your essay with a follow-up phone interview

Schedule of Events:

• Contest begins – January 12th, 2009
• Deadline to submit application - February 23rd
• Submit resume, personal statement, and response to two questions – March 20th
• Phone interviews – March 23rd thru April 5th
  
• Award decision – April 10th
• Award night – May 27th
  

Essay Questions:  Answer both questions

1.  The decision to enter a career should be a careful balance of perceived future values with the costs of obtaining them.  Select a career path that interests you, thoroughly research the job market for this position

a.       How difficult is it to find a job?

b.      Where are the major geographical centers for this profession?

c.       What kinds of companies would you work for [name three]?

d.      What kind of salary can you expect just out of school, and how will this vary over the course of your career?

e.       What do you need to study in college to enter this career?

f.        Will it require additional education – Master’s, PhD, or certification programs? 

g.       After you’ve done this research, explain why you want to enter this career.

 

 

2.  What were the most valuable lessons you learned from High School?  How would you improve CPHS?  List at least five suggestions for the administration. 

Instructions:

All submissions are to be made electronically to submissions@viglow.org. 

Personal Statement

The purpose of the personal statement is to get a better understanding of you in a way that is not readily discernible from your resume and essays.  We’re more concerned with the future – where you want to go, what you want to do – but brief descriptions of your past are great to list if you can draw specific lessons.  This should not be a generic letter where you simply present a laundry list of awards, decorations, and accomplishments.  These will be evident from your academic record and resume.  The best statement will contain a description of where you want to go with your life and how you plan to get there.  Limit this to no more than one page, single-spaced, size 12 font, with 1” margins. 

Resume

We want you to start thinking about your career.  You can use our résumés posted on this site as templates, but this is not necessary.  Format and content are at your discretion, but should be clear, concise, and professional.  Limit this to one page, identify your career goal at the beginning, and tailor the document to its objective. [Resume submission is not required for 2008 Contest]

Essays

All responses should be limited to no more than 2 pages, size 12 font, with 1” margins. 

1. Far too many people fail to think about the long term consequences of choosing a major in college.  It usually turns into a question of “What subjects do I like,” versus a realistic analysis of where you want to go with your life and the best options for getting there.  This question is designed to get you to start thinking about these issues.  Don’t fall into the trap of poorly planning your future and eventually finding yourself in a life you’d rather not be.  Remember that money is only a means to realizing your goals.  Without identifying your goals in life accumulating money loses purpose.  At the same time do not underestimate the need to earn a sufficient income to realize your dreams.
   
2. Every experience is valuable to the extent which you have learned from it.  The experiences of the last four years should have provided you with lessons that will carry throughout life.  Take the time to reflect on these experiences – the good and the bad – and describe the lessons you have learned and how they will benefit you in college and the rest of your life.  We’re also interested in hearing how the last four years could have been improved from a school standpoint.  This can be academic, social, or any other aspect of the CPHS experience.  Be creative – we intend to share these responses with the school administration, so you may just be able to change the future.  Your confidentiality will be strictly maintained, so do not hesitate to being as blunt as you deem appropriate. 

We are here to help you, so never hesitate to contact us.  We are happy to discuss any of these questions with you or help you in any other aspect we can.  If you want to discuss careers, schools, finances, stocks, or whatever else we can help with, just send us a message or write on the message board.

Have fun with the contest!