President Gerald R. Ford Student Writing Challenge

On April 3, 1975, at the end of the Vietnam War, President Ford directed American officials in Saigon to expedite the relocation of thousands of Vietnamese orphans to the United States in support of our Vietnamese allies, a maneuver dubbed “Operation Babylift.” As he said in the speech announcing Operation Babylift. “This is the least we can do, and we will do much, much more.”

Along with “Operation New Life,” which evacuated over 100,000 Vietnamese refugees fleeing the communist North Vietnamese Army’s advance, these efforts resulted in a surge of new American citizens, representing (in the words of the inscription on the Statue of Liberty), “… your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free….”

President Ford believed that America had a responsibility to our nation’s Vietnamese allies. It is now almost half a century later, and immigration continues to be a significant issue in the U.S. Reflecting on the experiences of your family and community, what do the words “American Citizen” mean to you?

We invite you to write 500-750 words on this question.

RULES & SUBMISSION PROCESS

For All Submissions:

• A title page is required for each entry. This page should be separate from the entry. Do not begin the text of your submission on the title page. It should include the following: student name, address, phone number, e-mail, grade, school, teacher’s name, teacher’s email address, school address.
• We use a blind judging process. Please do not include your name or other identifying information on the pages of your submission, with the exception of your title page.
• Limit one entry per student, per school year. Students entering more than one submission will be disqualified.
• Students in grades 9-12 are qualified to enter.
• Essays must be single-sided and double-spaced, using black ink. They should also include one-inch margins.
• All submissions must be the original work of the submitting student. Plagiarism will result in disqualification and will be reported to the student’s school. More than one student submitting the same work will result in disqualification of all identical work.
• Judges will determine legibility of fonts and hand-written entries.
• The sponsors reserve the right to interpret the scholarship essay rules and to make decisions concerning the awards in situations not covered by these rules.
• Participation in the contest constitutes entrant’s full and unconditional agreement to and acceptance of all official rules and guidelines, including eligibility requirements.
• No late entries will be accepted.

JUDGING CRITERIA & PROCESS

Winners will be selected based on adherence to the theme, quality of writing, originality of the writing, as well as proper use of grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

Plagiarism will result in disqualification. Judges will select the top three entries. Judges also reserve the right to select up to seven honorable mention recipients. One out-of-state student will be chosen for an award. All decisions made by the judges are final. Participating sponsors are not responsible for lost, late, misdirected, illegible, incomplete entries, or entries that do not follow all rules and guidelines.

Finalists only will be notified no later than mid May, 2024.

Entries will not be returned to students following the Writing Challenge.

ELIGIBILITY

9th-12th grade students living in the United States are eligible to apply for this award.

Household members and/or children of the employees of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum and the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation are not eligible.

By participating in the writing challenge, each contestant agrees to comply with these rules and further agrees to accept the decision of the judges as final and binding. Parents or guardians of the finalists will be required to sign and submit a publicity consent form as a condition of a student’s participation in this contest. Winning entries may be published on our website with consent of the writer.

AWARDS

Students from Michigan who submit their entries are eligible to receive the following awards:

• First Place: $2,500 plus a $500 Meijer gift card for student’s teacher
• Second Place: $1,500 plus a $250 Meijer gift card for student’s teacher
• Third Place: $1,000 plus a $100 Meijer gift card for student’s teacher
• Up to 7 Honorable Mentions: $500 each

A $500 prize will be awarded to a student living outside of Michigan.

Special thanks to Meijer for providing our teacher gift awards!

TIMELINE

Winners will be notified by April 26, 2024.

An award ceremony will be held to celebrate all finalists. (Date and format TBD)