REGION — SEEDS (Sustainable Energy Education and Development Support) of Northeastern PA will issue a $1,000 scholarship to a college-bound high school senior for the best essay addressing the following questions:

If you were an environmental adviser to the President, what would you recommend to promote sustainable energy in rural communities in the U.S.? What can northeastern PA residents do now to live more sustainably?

This scholarship will be in memory of Michael “Jake” Burkhardt, Western Wayne Class of 2015.

Local high school seniors are encouraged to submit an essay via email to scholarship@seedsgroup.net on or before Friday, May 6. The essay may be in the text of the email or in an attached Microsoft Word file and should be between 600 and 1,600 words in length. Seniors from Western Wayne High School, Honesdale High School, Wallenpaupack Area High School, and Canaan Christian Academy are eligible, as well as home-schooled seniors who reside within the areas covered by those high schools.

Entries will be reviewed by a panel of SEEDS volunteers based on the responsiveness to the topic; the persuasiveness, logic and cohesiveness of the ideas presented, and other criteria that the panel considers appropriate after reviewing the essays. Incorrect grammar and spelling will not be viewed favorably, and plagiarism will disqualify an essay. Panel members will review the essays without having access to any of the students’ information, including the students’ names.

The winner will be notified by May 23. The scholarship will be issued directly to the college specified by the student.

Applications must include name, address, email address, parent/guardian name(s) and address, current high school (or indicate home-schooled), proposed field of study, name of college you will be attending in the fall, and the essay.

The winner cannot be related to any SEEDS staff or board members. By submitting an essay, you are agreeing that SEEDS can use the essay or excerpts from it for publication or other uses, with your name as the author.

For more information visit www.seedsgroup.net or email jocelyn@seedsgroup.net.