State-wide Gandhi/King Peace Scholarship Writing Contest

The Illinois Community College Trustees Association's Gandhi / King Peace Scholarship provides a $1,000 scholarship to the student in Illinois who best articulates the peaceful messages of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This award has been endowed by Oakton Community College trustee Jody Wadhwa and the Oakton Educational Foundation. IVCC will submit one essay for the campus to be considered for the state-wide award.

Guidelines

Participants must address the Writing Prompt described below. Each submission must be no longer than 500 words in length.

All entries will be judged on the basis of the following criteria:

  • How the entrant’s life and volunteer activities have been affected personally by the legacies of Gandhi and King
  • Content, strength and persuasiveness of argument
  • Personal goals and involvement in peacebuilding efforts on campus and in the community
  • Writing style, clarity of expression, and correct grammar and punctuation

Failure to follow these rules will result in the disqualification of an entry.

Writing Prompt

Both Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., advocated for nonviolence as the way to confront the hate and discrimination that so often accompanies the disrespect of other human beings. The work and words of Gandhi and King are both an example and a road map for the way forward for our country. As a community college student, outline a plan that will educate the members of your college community about the scope of the problem and the elements of and rationale for a nonviolent response. In the description of your plan, please provide specific examples of how the legacies of Gandhi and King has affected your life and volunteer activities personally as a community college student.

Contest Deadlines

All entries must be received by the President’s Office no later than 2 p.m., Friday, February 28, 2025. The winner of the statewide Gandhi / King Peace Scholarship competition will receive a $1,000 cash stipend for educational expenses during the fall 2025 semester. In addition, ICCTA will invite the winner to attend the association's June 6, 2025 awards banquet in Normal.

To submit an entry for the Gandhi / King Peace Scholarship competition, please send your essay to:

IVCC President Tracy Morris
Deliver to Office C-300 or Email to tracy_morris@ivcc.edu

Entries must include the students name, IVCC email, and a contact phone number.