Attention high school journalists – the deadline to apply for the Bernard Kilgore Memorial Scholarship and the Bob Stevens Memorial Scholarship is February 13.

This year’s scholarship forms are now posted on our Scholarships Page. 

Begin making plans and build your portfolio now. You can gather all of the information you need to compete for these two awards – the Kilgore Scholarship is open to students who plan to study journalism in college; and the Stevens Scholarship  is designed for high school journalists who may major in other subjects.

The Kilgore Scholarship – valued at $5,000 – is awarded by New Jersey Press Foundation, which administers the Bernard Kilgore Memorial Scholarship Fund.

The Stevens Scholarship – valued at $2,000 – is awarded by the Garden State Scholastic Press Association. The winner of the award is announced at GSSPA’s Spring Advisers’ Conference in May.

The Kilgore Scholarship recipient is also named GSSPA’s New Jersey High School Journalist of the Year and is entered in a competition for the National High School Journalist of the Year, operated by the national Journalism Education Association.

The Kilgore Scholarship recipient is selected by a panel of New Jersey newspaper editors. Selection criteria include the student’s intent to major in journalism in college. Applicants must have at least two years of experience on their high school newspaper. Applicants must submit at least three letters of recommendations with their applications and at least three samples of writing published in the high school or community newspaper. Because applicants must have at least a 3.0 grade point average out of 4.0, a current high school transcript must be enclosed with the application package.

The Bob Stevens Memorial Scholarship is awarded to an outstanding journalism student who has demonstrated dedication to his or her school newspaper or yearbook. This scholarship does not require that the recipient major in journalism in college or pursue a career. Applications will be judged by a panel of independent judges, chosen from the many professional journalists employed in New Jersey.

The Stevens Scholarship is awarded by the Garden State Scholastic Press Association. The winner of the award is announced at GSSPA’s Spring Advisers’ Conference in May.

Bob Stevens was a dedicated teacher at Highland Park High School for many years, where he served as the adviser to the Highland Fling, the student newspaper.

He was a founding member of GSSPA and served as the first president of the organization. After his death, GSSPA started this scholarship to honor his memory and to help aspiring journalists.

The student’s school newspaper adviser must be a member of the GSSPA in order to be eligible for the award. The membership fee is $25 per year. For information, contact Susan Everett at [email protected].