BENJAMIN FRANKLIN SCHOLAR AWARD

In 2006 The Pennsylvania Society announced the Benjamin Franklin Scholar Award in honor of the 300th anniversary of the birth of Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790). Benjamin Franklin’s extraordinary life began in Boston where he was born into a family of tradesmen, apprenticed as a printer and later triumphed as a statesman, scientist, inventor, philanthropist, entrepreneur, humorist, diplomat and Founding Father. This remarkable American impacts our lives even today.

The Benjamin Franklin Scholar Award is open to public high school students in Pennsylvania in their junior year. This award will provide three prizes: first place $3,000; second place $2,000, and third place $1,000.

Guidelines for the Benjamin Franklin Scholar Award

1. Applicants for the Benjamin Franklin Scholar Award must:
1. Be a junior in good standing at a public high school in Pennsylvania.
2. Fully complete the required application form.
3. Write an essay of not more than 750 words discussing the modern day relevance and applicability of the following writing of Benjamin Franklin:  “They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security deserve neither liberty or security.”
4. Submit the application form and essay to the Benjamin Franklin Scholar Award Coordinator designated by the high school.
5. Electronic versions of all essays submitted by your school must be received by The Pennsylvania Society no later than Friday, October 17, 2008. Please note that there will be no extensions of this deadline.

2. Participating high schools must:

1. Designate a faculty member or administrator to serve as the Benjamin Franklin Scholar Award Coordinator, as provided in 1(d), above.
2. Designate persons to read and evaluate all essays, using the scoring rubric provided by the Pennsylvania Society.
3. Select no more than three (3) essays to be submitted for consideration at the state level. (Note: These will be reviewed by judges named by the Pennsylvania Association of School Counselors, the Pennsylvania Association of Elementary and Secondary School Principals and the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, based on the same scoring rubric as used by evaluators at each high school.)
4. The selected essays must be submitted as a Word document attachment to an email, submitted to scholaraward@PASociety.com. The name of the student and the high school must appear on each essay.
5. A completed application form and transmittal form must be submitted in hard copy to:

The Pennsylvania Society
808 Bethlehem Pike, Suite One
Erdenheim, PA 19038-8110

6. The deadline for essays, application forms and transmittal forms to be received by The Pennsylvania Society is Friday, October 17, 2008. This deadline will not be extended.
7. Additional information may be obtained by emailing or calling The Pennsylvania Society.