Bezos Scholars Program

[From Philanthropy News Digest]

The Bezos Scholars Program @ the Aspen Institute seeks twelve top public high school juniors and twelve dynamic educators to receive seven-day, all-expenses-paid scholarships to attend the Aspen Ideas Festival, June 26 to July 2, 2011, in Aspen, Colorado. The program was created by the Bezos Family Foundation to help cultivate the next generation of leaders.

The program seeks independent thinkers, demonstrated leaders, and engaged community members. Past Bezos Scholars have met with retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Secretaries of Education Arne Duncan and Margaret Spellings, oceanographer Sylvia Earle, inventor Dean Kamen, Tom's Shoe's founder Tom Mycoskie, and journalist Thomas Friedman, among other notables.

Following attendance at the Aspen Ideas Festival, the student and educator teams will return home and create Local Ideas Festivals in their schools.

To be eligible for the program, the student and educator team must be from a public high school (including charter and magnet schools) at which at least 25 percent of students are eligible for the free/reduced lunch program. The school must offer Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or the opportunity to take college/community college courses.

Student applicants must be public high school juniors during the 2010-11 academic year who: demonstrate leadership in school and community, have a GPA of 3.5 or higher and have scored exceptionally well on PSAT/SAT/or ACT,are enrolled in Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate/college classes, and are legal U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the U.S.

Visit the Bezos Family Foundation Web site to review the school and scholar criteria, view videos, and download the , program flyer, application form, and an FAQ.

Contact:
Link to Complete RFP