High School Students Alert: Scholarships Offered

JOHNSTON, RI — May 5 and May 15 are the deadlines to apply for some scholarships open to high school students. High school seniors can apply for a $500 scholarship from the Chiefs of Police Secretaries Association, the organization has announced.

And two scholarships – one for $250 and one for $1,000 – are open to sophomores and juniors who write the winning essays about how the Fourteenth Amendment has "reshaped American law and society," according to the Rhode Island Bar Association, the Police Chiefs Association, and the Rhode Island Judiciary, sponsors of the Rhode Island Law Day Student Essay Contest.

The first deadline is for the annual, 2017 Hon. Francis J. Darigan, Jr. Rhode Island Law Day Essay Contest, which is open to 10th and 11th grade Rhode Island resident students attending school in Rhode Island. The winning essay author receives a $1,000 Scholastic Award and an engraved trophy cup. A second place essay author receives a $250 Scholastic Award donated by the Edward P. Gallogly Family Law Inns of Court.

This year’s essay topic is The 14th Amendment: Transforming American Democracy. Ratified during Reconstruction a century and a half ago, the Fourteenth Amendment serves as the cornerstone of landmark civil rights legislation, the foundation for numerous federal court decisions protecting fundamental rights, and a source of inspiration for all those who advocate for equal justice under law. All essay entries must, in no more than 1,000 words, discuss the many ways the student believes that the Fourteenth Amendment has reshaped American law and society.

Background information on this topic, The 14th Amendment: Transforming American Democracy, can be found on the Bar Association website ribar.com under: For The Public –2017 Law Day.

The entry deadline is Friday, May 5 at 4 p.m. Please direct questions to: Kathleen Bridge at the Rhode Island Bar Association: telephone: (401) 421-5740 email: kbridge@ribar.com

Next, the Chief of Police Secretaries Association has set May 15 as the deadline to submit the Chiefs of Police Secretaries Association 2017 Scholarship Application.

"This one-time award will be given to a high school senior or anyone possessing a GED from any Rhode Island high school – public, private, or parochial. The applicants also must be accepted in a business program and have a good scholastic average.

They'll be rated on

• Academic achievement and potential

• Community /volunteer activities
• School activities
• Leadership
• Awards/honors
• Financial need
• Scholarship and character recommendations

The scholarship will be awarded in June and must be used during the school year it is awarded. According to the association, the payment will be made in the name of the recipient directly to the school, where the student is enrolled in a business program.

Applications must be postmarked by Monday, May 15, 2017. Send completed forms, letters, and transcript to: COPSA Scholarship Committee, ATTN: Lori Anderson, Johnston Police Department, 1651 Atwood Ave., Johnston, 02919

For additional information, contact Anderson by telephone at 231-4210-x-4016 or e-mail her at Landerson656@yahoo.com; or contact one of the following COPSA Scholarship Committee members:

Patricia Tweedie, Cumberland Police Department, 1380 Diamond Hill Road, Cumberland, 02864 or by telephone at 401-333-2500 or e-mail ptweedie@cumberlandpolice.com;

Ginnie Bowry, RETIRED, Department of Public Safety, Bryant University, by e-mail at gbowry@gmail.com;

Lisa DiSciullo, Smithfield Police Department, 215 Pleasant View Ave., Smithfield, 02917 or by telephone at 401-231-2500 x-114 or e-mail: lisa@smithfieldpd.com.

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