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2009 Black
Hills Chapter Essay contest
The
Black
Hills
Chapter of the
Germans from
Russia
Heritage Society
is
sponsoring its annual
Youth
Essay Contest!
Theme:
"Germany/Russia/Americas...Giant
Steppes Toward Freedom"
The
Black Hills GRHS Chapter is encouraging students to participate in the GRHS
Youth Essay Contest. The contest promotes the goals of the GRHS by encouraging
young people to learn about the history of the German-Russians. Genealogy is a
rapidly growing interest in our society; exposure to the study of family
heritage and to the history of the German-Russians helps to stimulate a lifelong
interest in family & ethnic history. Chapter winners will be announced at
the
June 2009
Black Hills Chapter meeting.
All entries will be given honorable mention and will be forwarded to the
International GRHS Youth Essay Contest. Winners of the International Contest
will be announced at the 2009 GRHS Convention, which will be held in
Rapid City SD on 9-13 September 2009
ELIGIBILITY: The contest is open to all students in
public, private, parochial or home schools and accredited universities, subject
to the categories below. The subject of the paper must be related to the German
Russian Heritage and must be the contestant's original work; however, the
student does not need to be of German Russian heritage to enter the contest.
Previous contestants are encouraged to enter each year; however, resubmission of
previously judged work is not permitted.
CATEGORIES:
International
winners will be chosen in each of the following categories.
 |
I.
Middle School…6th thru 8th grade.
|
| II.
High School…9th
thru 12th grade.
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|
III.
University
or College
Undergraduate
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TOPICS:
Topics
may include any and all aspects of German Russian heritage, including:
·
Cultural
anthropology of the German-Russians.
·
Historical
analysis of the reasons for the diaspora of the German-Russians.
·
German-Russian
history in
America.
·
German-Russian
history in Russia, the Soviet Union, loss of Soviet citizenship and
slave
labor camps, and slave labor in England & France after World War II.
·
Personal
family history.
FORMAT:
Format
for the paper may include:
·
Creative
writing, including short stories, fictional diaries, plays,
historical fiction, and descriptive prose (example: prose concerning visits
with family
members
or travel to places with historical significance to the
family).
·
Genealogical
history of a particular family, including individual histories of
ancestors.
·
Research
papers, including argumentative and/or historical analysis.
·
PowerPoint--Entries
using the PowerPoint computer program, to include maps,
photos, and
family trees are encouraged.
PAPER REQUIREMENTS:
Requirements
for each category are listed on the contest information and entry form. The
contestant's name should be on the entry form only and should not appear on the
essay. Click
HERE
to download the Black Hills youth essay contest information and entry
form as an Acrobat file or
HERE for a Word file.. Please print the entry form and send it with your essay to the
address on the entry form.
DEADLINE: 20 March
2009.
JUDGING
CRITERIA:
Only
the essay’s text is judged; contestants will not be required to read or orally
present their essay. Judges are impartial and will not know who wrote the essay.
Winning entries will be judged on originality, creativity, clarity, style and
evidence of a serious research effort.
BLACK
HILLS CHAPTER AWARDS:
The
Black Hills Chapter awards will be:
University Undergraduate: 1st place -
$150 & Runner-up - $100.
High School: 1st place - $150 & Runner-up - $100.
Middle School: 1st place - $100 & Runner-up - $75.
All winners will receive trophies. With winner's authorization, essays may be
published in the Black Hills Chapter Newsletter and/or electronically on the
Black Hills Chapter Website. All entries will
be forwarded to the GRHS International Youth Essay Contest.
INTERNATIONAL
AWARDS:
With winners authorization, essays
may be published in the GRHS Heritage Review and/or electronically on the GRHS website.
In addition, winners in each category will receive the following:
Middle School:
First Place: Trophy and $150;
Second Place: Runner-Up Trophy and $100.
High School:
First Place: Trophy and $150;
Second Place: Runner-Up Trophy and $100.
High School Senior Scholarship: A $250 Gwen Pritzkau scholarship will be awarded
to the highest scoring high school senior through the University of their
Choice.
University Undergraduate: A trophy and a $750
scholarship, which will be awarded through the University of their Choice.
SOURCES OF INFORMATION: |
|
Contact the
Information Desk at your local public library for material to assist in family
research. Many GRHS chapters and genealogical societies have donated or
provided books and periodicals to their local libraries. The genealogy section
of libraries, which may be located in the family research section, may contain
helpful information. |
|
Contact members
of your family. Elderly members of your family may have useful information and
some members of your family may have worked at transcribing your family’s
history. |
|
Helpful websites:
|
|
www.grhs.org
Germans from Russia Heritage Society.
|
|
http://www.lib.ndsu.nodak.edu/grhc,
and
http://www.prairiepublic.org/features/GFR/gfrguide.pdf.
Germans from Russia Heritage Collection. |
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AHSGR:
http://www.ahsgr.org/.
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Good Luck! |
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