The Black Women’s Association of WTAMU has created a new scholarship opportunity for undergraduate students at West Texas A&M University with the Martin Luther King Jr. Video Essay Contest.

The scholarship contest encourages students to “Be the change you want to see,” by submitting a video essay answering questions including, “What change do you want to see?” “What have you done?” and “What do you plan to do?”

There will be three winners for this scholarship opportunity with first place receiving $1000, second place receiving $50 and third place winning $250.

“The importance of this scholarship is for students to gain inspiration and become motivated about making change. Everyone deserves a seat at the table, our students’ voices deserve to be heard. In order to be the change, you must first be a part of the process,” said Angel Ross, student success coordinator for the College of Nursing and Health Science.

Entries for the scholarship are now open for students to apply and the deadline for submissions is Feb. 19, 2021.

“We want our students to put an action plan in place, and we want our students to be inspired to promote change. It is significant for our young people to be a part of this vision, because they are the future,” Ross said.

Video submissions will be submitted electronically and the required video length for submissions are five minutes or less. AVI, FLV, WMV, MOV and MP4 are acceptable formats for submission.

In relation to the scholarship contest, there will be a march held on Jan. 19 to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day and in remembrance of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in which MLK spoke.

The lineup will start at 10:15am and the march will start 11:00am. The march lineup is located at 900 N. Hayden near the Black Historical Culture Center and goes to Bones Hooks Park for a short ceremony. Along with the march, there will be a reenactment of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

If there are any questions concerning the video essay contest or any other details, contact Angel Ross through phone or email at 806-651-2761 and [email protected].