Spirit of Youth Scholarship
Scholarship Sponsored by American Legion Auxiliary
Overview
National Headquarters will provide each department/state with one $1,000 scholarship recipient. This award program is new, having begun with the 2023–2024 cycle. From the pool of up to 52 department/state winners, the National Education Committee will choose five awardees (one from each division) to receive a $5,000 scholarship instead of the $1,000 department/state award.
Eligibility and Rules
- Membership: Applicants must be current or former Junior members of the American Legion Auxiliary and have maintained continuous ALA membership for the three consecutive years 2023, 2024, and 2025. In addition, applicants must be a paid member for the 2026 membership year. Membership must be maintained throughout the period the scholarship is in effect. Note: participation in an ALA Girls State program does not confer ALA membership and does not qualify a participant for this Spirit of Youth Scholarship.
- Academic standing: Applicants should be in their senior year of high school or hold an equivalent senior standing. The scholarship is intended for attendance at an accredited institution of higher education. Candidates must be of good character and meet the admission requirements of their chosen school, with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
- Essay requirement and originality: Responses to essay prompts must be at least 600 characters long to ensure sufficient detail. All essay submissions will be screened using AI-assisted tools to check for originality and potential plagiarism. Heavy reliance on AI-generated content will result in disqualification.