Scholarship

In January each year, Zonta Club of Yakima Valley begins accepting applications for the local Zonta scholarship, through the Young Women in Public Affairs program. This scholarship of $2,000 is given to one outstanding senior girl from one of the Yakima Valley high schools each spring. The money may be applied to studies at any four year college.

Applicants are asked to write answers to five questions:

1. Student Activities
   Describe your student activities and the leadership role you play in them. Please include what you find most rewarding or valuable about your participation in these activities.
2. Community Service Activities
   Describe the activities that you participate in, that benefit your community. Why did you select these activities?
3. International Awareness
   Describe the activities that you participate in and the ways that you seek to understand other countries, with their different customs and ways of life!
4. Status of Women in the USA
   a) What do you see as the most important problem(s) (no more than 2) limiting the advancement of the status of women.
   b) What do you think could be done about it?
   c) If you had the power to make one change to help women achieve better equality, what would that change be?
5. Status of Women Worldwide
   a) What do you see as the most important problem(s) (no more than 2) limiting the status of women worldwide?
   b) What do you think could be done about it? Include your opinion about the role of international organizations like the UN, with the help of the NGOs worldwide, and/or the input of each individual woman.

The Zonta Scholarship Committee sends letters to the counseling office of each local high school, encouraging them to get the word out to the seniors. Applicants are screened by a committee of five Zonta members who are provided with specific criteria to assist in the consistent evaluations of the responses to the written questions. The winner and her immediate family are invited to attend our Status of Women luncheon which is held each year in June.

The recipient of the Yakima Valley Zonta Club Scholarship is also entered in a competition for the District 8 scholarship which is for $500.

Download the Scholarship Application [ MS Word version 1.50 MB] [ PDF version 189 KB]

Deadline for submission of the application is March 1st.

Status of Women Scholarship Recipients

The following young women received the Zonta Status of Women in Public Affairs scholarship in recent years: