BATON ROUGE- Mayor Sharon Weston Broome announced an essay contest Friday for high school seniors to address central issues facing our community in the coronavirus pandemic.

The contest is open to graduating seniors who are members of the Class of 2020 and attend schools in East Baton Rouge Parish.

“Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, I planned to implement a scholarship program to benefit our graduating seniors in East Baton Rouge Parish,” Mayor Broome said. “I want to use this opportunity to help our seniors through times of uncertainty while giving them the chance to show initiative, empower their voices, and share their input on the challenges they are facing.”

Seniors who wish to participate are asked to prepare an essay on, “What Should High School Education Look Like In a COVID-19 Culture?” 

Essays should contain a minimum of 700 words, with no more than 1,000 words.

The contest is open to graduating seniors under the age of nineteen as of June 1. Students must reside in East Baton Rouge Parish and attend a high school within the parish at the time of entry.

Financial awards include $2,000 for first place, $1,000 for second place, $500 for third place, and two $250 special recognition prizes. Each award will also include a certificate of recognition.

All awards will be payable directly to the student and will not be extended to any other named person.

Essays should be submitted to covid19essay@brla.gov by midnight on May 13.? Official contest rules can be found here.