Twenty Minnesota students earned prizes for their recent submissions to the Student Spotlight Competition held in conjunction with the BestPrep Educational Forum.
Participants in the competition created projects inspired by a prompt from national non-profit leader and author, John Hope Bryant’s keynote address at the Forum, Financial Dignity for All. The prompt students were given is as follows:
Making your dreams come true is easy to say but hard to accomplish. In Bryant’s book, Up from Nothing, he writes about the five pillars needed for success: education, financial literacy, self-esteem and confidence, family structure and role models. Through the use of essay, poetry, art, sculpture, or video, please explain how these pillars will be key to your personal success. Why are they key?
224 projects were submitted from around the state and judged to determine the top 20 entries. Students who placed in the top 20, along with their teachers and families were invited to attend the Educational Forum. Each top 20 student was awarded a gift card, with students in the top five being awarded larger prizes including a MacBook Air, AirPods and gift cards. Our first place winner, Akshika Kandeepan, was the recipient of the Kristie Award and a $2,500 scholarship provided by the Kristie Greve family. View the complete list of winners here.