Check City's $2,000 scholarship essay contest for college students is now closed for applications. The annual scholarship will reopen on January 1, 2025.
The Richard Rawle Memorial Scholarship is a scholarship essay contest where students can win a total of $2,000 in scholarship money. It is named for Richard Rawle, the father of Check City CEO Tracy Rawle and Todd Rawle. The Rawle family believes that education is essential for making communities thrive. With the Richard Rawle Memorial Scholarship funds, students can finance their education and go on to support and elevate their communities.
Please read the following requirements thoroughly before submitting an application below.
How to Qualify for the Scholarship
To apply for the Richard Rawle Memorial Scholarship make sure you meet the scholarship requirements and then submit an application along with your essay answering the scholarship essay prompt.
All students are encouraged to apply, regardless of their major or minor. This includes high school seniors starting college that year, undergraduate college students, and graduate college students.
Step 1: Meet the Scholarship Requirements
To be eligible for the Richard Rawle Memorial Scholarship, applicants must meet the following basic requirements:
- Be currently enrolled in an accredited university or college in the United States
- Be enrolled full-time
- Have a minimum GPA of 2.5
- Submit at least 1 reference letter
- Submit a scholarship essay
- The scholarship essay should be at least 500 words
- The scholarship essay should answer the prompt
Step 2: Submit an Application and Essay
All scholarship applicants must submit a scholarship essay answering the following essay prompt.
The name and photo associated with your Google account will be recorded when you upload files and submit this form. Please note that the selection of scholarship recipients is at the sole discretion of the scholarship committee. The committee’s decisions are final and based on the criteria outlined in the scholarship application guidelines. Due to the high volume of applications, we are unable to provide individual feedback or justification for the selection or non-selection of applicants. Submission of an application does not guarantee receipt of a scholarship. The scholarship committee reserves the right to modify, extend, or discontinue the scholarship program at any time without prior notice. By applying for the scholarship, applicants agree to these terms and conditions.
Scholarship Application Deadline
The Richard Rawle Memorial Scholarship Committee will be accepting scholarship applications from January 1st to June 1st.
The scholarship application submission deadline is June 1st.
Once all submissions are received, they will be reviewed by the Richard Rawle Memorial Scholarship Committee and the scholarship winner will be announced on June 14th.
The scholarship funds will be paid directly to the university or college that the winning applicant is attending, with $1,000 being given for two semesters, accumulating in a total scholarship fund of $2,000 over the course of two semesters.
Scholarship Contact Information
For questions about the scholarship, email the Richard Rawle Memorial Scholarship Committee at the following email address: scholarship@checkcity.com
Previous Scholarship Winners
2024 Scholarship Winner, Divya Saikumar
The 2024 Richard Rawle Memorial Scholarship winner is Divya Saikumar from Illinois (IL). Divya has worked to uplift her community in many ways, including volunteering at orphanages, beach cleanups, recycling programs, fundraising, and donation efforts.
Divya has also partnered with SCARCE to set up a recycling program at her high school with multiple drop-off sites. Through this initiative, she recycled writing utensils and batteries, sold bread tags to a plastics manufacturer to raise thousands of dollars to purchase wheelchairs for disabled children, and melted broken crayons to make 700 sets of large crayons for the Treasure Chest Foundation to give to children undergoing chemotherapy. Divya also co-founded the Rice University chapter of the Food Recovery Network in her efforts to fight food insecurity. Through Farming Hope, she was also able to combat food insecurity while helping formerly incarcerated individuals, refugees, and unhoused individuals undergo job training.
Divya Saikumar is a passionate and driven member of her community with a strong commitment to uplifting her community in tangible and environmentally efficient ways.
2023 Scholarship Winner, Sojung Bok
The 2023 Richard Rawle Memorial Scholarship winner is Sojung Bok from Colorado (CO). Sojung is a member of the Utah State Board of Education Student Advisory Council and worked to pass a bill that now provides free period products in school restrooms. She's now writing recommendations for the Board of Education on how to create better mental health training for educators in her district.
She also planned and orchestrated the Washington County Flea Market Fundraiser after learning that a third of her town suffered from food insecurity. All the proceeds of the flea market went to the Southern Utah branch of the Utah Food Bank to help families in her area.
She's also connected with the world at large by teaching English to a student in Ukraine who wishes to one day study abroad.
2022 Scholarship Winner, Ashis Dhakal
The 2022 Richard Rawle Memorial Scholarship winner is Ashis Dhakal from Utah (UT). Ashis created a nonprofit foundation called Namaskar United that collects clothes and hygiene products to help the homeless.
The foundation also helps provide resources to cancer patients and children with birth defects in developing countries, particularly in Nepal where Ashis is originally from.
Namaskar United has raised over $5,000 and has helped over 1,000 people as of 2022.
2021 Scholarship Winner, Angelina Xu
The 2021 Richard Rawle Memorial Scholarship winner is Angelina Xu from New Jersey (NJ). As a freshman in High School, Angelina volunteered at a Children’s Specialized Hospital. As a sophomore, she was inspired by her freshman year service to found the Miracle Network Foundation to raise money and awareness for pediatric illnesses.
The Miracle Network had a goal to raise $2,000 and ended up raising $10,000. They sold 300 lbs of cookie dough for the holiday season by rallying different clubs and sports at school to form fundraising teams, going door-to-door to businesses to hang flyers, coordinating a 6-hour dance marathon, and creating Zoom support sessions for patient families.
