The National Communication Association invites students to apply and compete for the NCA Legacy Scholarship award. The NCA Legacy Scholarship seeks to broaden the Communication discipline’s relevance to various publics by providing a $1,000 scholarship to a local college student pursuing a degree in Communication, Journalism, or related program within the host city/region where the NCA Annual Convention is being held. A $250 award will go to the runner up. The scholarship award will be competitively given to a student based on both an essay related to communication and civic responsibility, and a convention theme-related speech presented during the NCA Annual Convention. The 2019 Annual Convention will be held November 14-17, 2019, in Baltimore, Maryland. For more information on the Annual Convention, please visit www.natcom.org/convention.
There are several criteria for award eligibility:
- Applicant must be an undergraduate college student, (preference given to self-identified first-generation college students), with at least one year of postsecondary education remaining at an accredited college or university.
- Applicant must be attending a college or university within the city/region where the NCA Annual Convention is being held – this means within the region of Baltimore/Washington, DC. (Should you have questions about if your college/university is within the local region, please contact the committee chair).
- Applicant must be pursuing a degree in communication, journalism, or related program.
- Applicant must have a 3.0 GPA or higher.
- Applicant must not have received this award previously.
Five semi-finalists will be selected based on the quality of their written essays. The semi-finalists will then compete in a speech contest to be held during the Annual Convention. Submission of the nomination material indicates the willingness of the applicant to attend and participate in the Legacy Scholarship speech competition, where the applicant will deliver a 5-7 minute informative or persuasive speech related to the convention theme during the annual convention.
The first-place winner of the speech competition will receive an engraved plaque presented at the Awards Ceremony during the Annual Convention supported by NCA until 2026 and then the NCA Legacy Scholarship Fund starting in 2027. The plaque will be personalized and sent to the winner following the convention. The first-place winner will also receive a $1,000 monetary scholarship award supported by NCA until 2026 and then the NCA Legacy Scholarship Fund starting in 2027. The runner-up will receive a $250 monetary award. All participants in the speech contest portion will receive $50 for travel expenses to the conference.
Each semi-finalist will receive a free convention registration as well as on-site parking for the day of the speech contest.
Submission Information
Nominations must be sent to the Selection Committee Chairperson, Brian Grewe at briangrewe@gmail.com. Self-nominations are encouraged. Nomination letters should indicate the nominee's qualifications, interest in civic responsibility, and readiness for a career in communication.
The nomination materials are due by October 1, 2019 and must include the following:
- A letter of application
- A letter of recommendation
- A short essay (maximum 750 words) related to communication and civic responsibility on the following: As we continue to navigate tumultuous times, how should communication student and expert frame communication for survival?
- A resume or CV indicating any work, community service, and extracurricular leadership experiences.
Submission of the nomination material indicates the willingness for the applicant to attend and participate in the Legacy Scholarship speech competition to deliver a 5-7 minute persuasive speech:
The five 2019 semi-finalists will be invited to speak on the following:
Our current culture has produced ‘every day experts’ on various aspects of society—including communication. As a result, certain voices are echoed and silenced regardless of their authority on a matter. How can the study of today’s communication culture be used to ensure the survival of our discipline in the future?
Selection Committee
- Brian Grewe, chair and member of the Diversity Council, briangrewe@gmail.com
- Niya Pickett Miller
- Roseann Mandziuk, Second Vice-President Elect, NCA