NLGJA Scholarship for LGBT

Leroy Aarons Scholarship

If you are a member of the LGBT community, or Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, or Transgender community, and you plan to study journalism in college, you may be interested in the NLGJA Leroy F. Aarons Scholarship Program. This program awards journalism students who are members of the LGBT community $5000 towards their education.

This $5000 award is divided and distributed to pay for the student’s tuition annually for a period of three years. The scholarship is not renewable, meaning that you do not get an additional $5000 each year – the award is made once, and used over a three year period.

Leroy F. Aarons was the founder of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association, or NLGJA. The purpose of founding this organization was to create reporting by the media that was fairer to the LGBT community, as well as to other minority communities and groups. Mr. Aarons knew long ago that the only way that this could be accomplished was in supporting the education of young people who were studying towards a career in Journalism.

In order to be eligible for one of the annual awards, you must be a high school senior who has already been accepted in college. The college can be a two year or four year school, and it must be located and accredited in the United States. The student must also be planning to attend as a full time student, as a journalism student. Additionally, graduate students may also apply for the award, if their graduate program is journalism.

The winners are selected on a variety of criteria, but most importantly, you must be able to demonstrate your interest in a career as a journalist, and also demonstrate that you are aware of and passionate about the issues that face the LGBT community. Additionally, you must be a resident of the United States, and the award cannot be used to pay for any coursework that occurs outside of the United States.

The award can be used towards tuition only, and no other educational expenses. If your tuition is less than $5000, you will only be awarded that amount needed to cover your tuition. The organization is very specific and detailed concerning the application process, and it is vital that you follow the instructions and requests that are made to the letter or you will not be considered for this award.

You application package should include the application, your resume, five work samples, your transcripts, and a letter of acceptance to the college that you have chosen. You also need three letters of recommendation, and an essay in the form of a biography. The deadline for submitting the materials to the NLGJA for the Leroy Aarons Scholarship Program is announced each year on the website and is normally the end of January.

Contact
Leroy F. Aarons Scholarship Award
NLGJA
1420 K Street, NW, Suite 910
Washington, DC 20005
Aarons@nlgja.org