2012 Black Hills Chapter Essay contest

          
          The Black Hills Chapter of the 
   Germans from Russia Heritage Society    
                is sponsoring its annual

                              Essay Contest!

                                                    Theme:
    "Germany/Russia/Americas...Giant Steppes Toward Freedom" 

An Essay Contest sponsored by the Black Hills Chapter of the Germans from Russia Heritage Society, an international organization, promotes the goals of the society by encouraging students to learn about the history and culture of the Germans from Russia and to learn about family genealogical research.

Chapter essay contest winners will be announced at the June 2012 Black Hills Chapter meeting, with the contest winners receiving trophies and prizes. All entries from the Black Hills Chapter Contest will be included in the International GRHS Essay Contest for judging. International Contest winners will also receive trophies and prizes and will be invited to receive their awards at a luncheon held in their honor during the GRHS Convention on 18-22 July 2012 in Bismarck ND.

ELIGIBILITY: This GRHS Essay Contest is open to all students attending public, private, parochial, or home schools, and to students attending accredited universities, as full- time undergraduate students. The subject of the paper must be directly related to German Russian history, heritage or culture, and be the contestant’s original work. A contestant does not need to be ethnic German-Russian to enter the contest.  Resubmission of previously judged work is not permitted. 

CATEGORIES:

BH GRHS winners and GRHS winners will be chosen in each of the following categories:

In addition, GRHS will choose a High School Senior Scholarship winner.

TOPICS: Essay 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 (scatter) of the
        German-Russians.
   ·        German-Russian history in the Americas and Canada.
   ·        German-Russian history in Russia, the Soviet Union, loss of Soviet citizenship, labor
        camps in the Soviet Union, and labor camps in England and France after World War II .  ·        Personal family history, insofar as it relates to German-Russian history and culture. 

FORMAT: Format for the entries may include:
  ·        Research papers, including persuasive works and/or historical analysis.
  ·        Creative writing, including short stories, fictional diaries, plays, historical fiction,
       and descriptive prose. Creative writing endeavors should evidence an exploration
       and understanding of German Russian history and culture. 
  ·        Genealogical history of a particular family including individual histories of ancestors.
  ·        Digital Media, including but not limited to PowerPoint, short film, and website design. 
       Please note:  all digital media will be judged according to the same criteria as other
       entries.

 PAPER REQUIREMENTS:

 Middle School:

High School:

 College/University:

 SOURCES OF INFORMATION:

JUDGING CRITERIA:
Entries are judged solely on the quality of research underlying the entry, and the writing style of the entry. NOTE:  a substantial portion of the scoring rubric is based upon how the paper addresses German-Russian history and heritage.  While providing historical context as to world events and history at the time is not discouraged in any way, please be aware that providing such background is not a substitute for discussing how the German-Russian people interacted with world affairs.  All entries are submitted anonymously to a panel of judges, who complete a scoring card for each entry. Scores are then totaled to determine contest winners Criteria for judging include historical accuracy, clarity, and originality of thought, creativity, and style.  Winning entries, regardless of format, must show evidence of serious research on German-Russian history and culture. 

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 2012.

BLACK HILLS CHAPTER AWARDS:
The Black Hills Chapter awards will be:
University Undergraduate: 1^st Place — $150 & Runner-up - $100.
High School: 1^st Place — $150 & Runner-up — $100.
Middle School: 1^st 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 at : www.grhs.org  on the Chapters page.  

 INTERNATIONAL AWARDS:  
With the winner’s authorization, winning 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:  1^st Place — $150 & Runner-up — $100
High School:  1^st Place — $150 & Runner-up — $100
High School Senior Scholarship: The $300 Gwen Pritzkau scholarship will be awarded to the highest scoring high school senior entry.
University: A $1000 scholarship will be awarded to the highest scoring university entry;
2^nd place will receive a Runner-Up Trophy and $250.