Nick Begich Alaskan Scholarships

Our 2025-2026 Scholarship/Fellowship round is now open.  Applications will close on February 28, 2025 and awardees will be announced in June, 2025.

All applications (Scholarships or Internships / Fellowships) are due in February of each year, and reviewed by the Fund’s Board of Directors. Successful applicants are announced in the month of April, often coinciding with the late Congressman’s birthday.

Our Scholarship fund was created in 1977 to carry on the ideals of the late Alaskan Congressman Nicholas J. Begich, who came to the state in 1956 as a teacher and believed that education was both a right and a privilege, one that must be available to all.

The application form is below. Please read and follow these instructions to apply. Your application may include additional materials such as a list of extracurricular activities (volunteer efforts, work experience, sports, clubs, etc.) you have engaged in and any organizations in which you are currently active. No more than three pages of additional materials will be considered. Scroll down in this box, and be sure you read all the application rules.

Letters of Recommendation: With your application packet, please include two current letters of recommendation: one from a teacher, counselor, employer, or community activist; and one from a peer, friend, or colleague.

Your Essay: Each applicant must include a 500-word statement on a separate sheet detailing your goals, the reasons you are applying, and any other information that would assist the Board of Directors in making its selections. Specifically, if you are applying for an education scholarship, please elaborate on why you want a career in education OR how a teacher made a difference in your life and how that experience has shaped your decision to go into education. If applying for a political science, government or public service scholarship, outline who in the current or historical political arena (city, state, or nation) would you most like to emulate and why, OR if you were a candidate for public office today, what would be your platform, OR if you were providing a public service today, what would be your motivation for providing that service?

Please Note:

1. Only Alaska residents are eligible for these awards;
2. The Board will only consider applications from students interested in careers in education, government, and public service. Applications for other fields such as medical, nursing, or aviation will not be considered;
3. Transcripts for student applicants (high school for college freshmen; college transcript for sophomores, juniors, and seniors) must be included or sent directly to us from the school. If included, transcript must be an official sealed copy from the college registrar’s office. A minimum of “C” average for the previous school year is required.
4. Any mailed applications, transcripts or supporting documents must be sent to:

Nick Begich Scholarship Intern Fund

Attn: Tom Begich, Executive Director

P.O. Box 142711, Anchorage, AK 99514-2711

The deadline for all online submissions and postmarks of mailed materials is February 28, 2025.

• No more than three (3) additional pages may be included with your application, excluding transcripts, letters of recommendation, and essay;
• Photographs may be included with your application but are not required;
• Any questions may be e-mailed to Executive Director Tom Begich at tsbegich@gmail.com.

No late applications will be accepted