2026 Parish President Jaclyn Hotard's Scholarship Essay Contest

Published on February 02, 2026

2026 Scholarship Essay Contest

Essay Topic: If you could create a community initiative, what would it be, and how would you use it to positively impact the community?

Purpose

This contest encourages Class of 2026 graduating seniors to develop and express their ideas through written composition while competing for a scholarship award.

Eligibility

• Open to Class of 2026 graduating seniors
• Must reside in St. John the Baptist Parish and attend a parish high school at time of entry
• Essays must be original, independently completed, and authored by one student only

Submission Requirements

• Deadline: Monday, March 30, 2026, at 4:00 p.m.
• Email only to essaycontest@stjohn-la.gov (no hard copies)
• Submit as a Microsoft Word document
• File name format: 2026Essay_YourName (example: 2026Essay_JaneDoe)
• Submission email must include essay title, student name, phone number, and school

Essay Guidelines

• Length: 700–1,000 words (manual word count required; excludes title page and citations)
• Typed, double-spaced; handwritten essays not accepted
• Include a title page with: topic, student name, address, phone number, school, and total word count
• Pages numbered beginning with Page 1 on the first essay page (not title page)
• Essay topic and word count must appear at the top of Page 1
• No identifying information within the essay body
• All quotations or copyrighted material must be properly cited

Scholarship Award

• $400 scholarship awarded to each winner
• Winners will be formally recognized by Parish President Jaclyn Hotard
• Scholarship payable directly to the student and is non-transferable

Scoring (100 Points Total)

• Organization & Topic Adherence – 30
• Vocabulary & Style – 30
• Grammar, Punctuation & Spelling – 15
• Creativity – 15
• Neatness – 5
• Adherence to Rules & Format – 5

Disqualification & Penalties

Submissions may be penalized or disqualified for plagiarism, multiple entries, missing topic or word count, incorrect format, failure to meet word limits, or failure to double-space.

Judges’ decisions are final. Winning entries may be published and announced at senior awards ceremonies or graduation.