Kent State’s University Libraries is holding its third annual scholarship competition this semester, to award $1,000 to multiple student recipients.. 

The first scholarship ever awarded was in spring 2014, after University Libraries created an endowment to fund it. Contributions come from the University Libraries National Advisory Committee and the Friends of University Libraries, according the scholarship’s page on kent.edu. 

“Our advisory council felt that one thing that we could also do that would be very valuable, especially to Kent State students, is to provide a scholarship,” said Karen Hillman, director of marketing and communications.

In order to be eligible, students must provide a FASFA or a statement of financial need, and is restricted to Kent State undergraduate students only. Students can only win once, according to Joy Leavy, assistant professor of University Libraries and co-chair of the scholarship committee.

Hillman said that it was important to the advisory council that they added “or in financial need” because there are a number of students who may not qualify for FASFA.

“We have students who just don’t want to take out a student loan so they’re working two, three jobs and going to school, so we wanted to not make the FASFA the only requirement,” Hillman said.

Students have to be enrolled for the next upcoming year, or they are not eligible, according to Leavy. She said the winners get half of the scholarship in the fall, and the other half in the spring. Winners can use the scholarship money for room and board, fees and books.

Students must also submit their transcripts and an essay with a minimum of 600 words, but have no more than 1,000. All submissions can be done online, according to Leavy.

“This year we have two possible topics, you can only answer one” Leavy said. “One of them is more practical, the other is more theoretical.”

One topic asks students what they think the library represents, or what they think the library is for. The other topic asks students to talk about a project they used the library for, and what kinds of resources they used, according the scholarship website. The topics are different each year, Leavy said.

Yacouba Kabore, a senior business management major, was a library scholarship recipient in 2015, meaning he received it for this past fall semester and spring 2016. He said he was happy and honored that he won.

“Education is really important,” Kabore said. “It might not make you become rich, but it will definitely guarantee your dignity.”

Winners will be honored at the Friends of University Libraries Legacy Scholarship Dinner on Oct 6. in the ballroom at the Kent State Student Center. Hillman said that about five different groups from performing arts perform at the dinner.

“Our friends of the library, our advisory council and our Kent State Community, is invited to come and meet our scholarship winners,” Hillman said.

Kabore attended the dinner after he won. He said the dinner was great and that he thought it was very nice.

“I really had fun,” Kabore said. “They had like really nice performances.”

The deadline for submitting an application is March 1 and winners will be announced Apr. 27.

For more information on the scholarship, please visit  http://libguides.library.kent.edu/c.php?g=278323&p=1854494

Kimberly Laferty is the libraries reporter for The Kent Stater, contact her at [email protected]