The scholarship was designed to attract senior high school students to thinking about the culture of death, and its awful manifestation in the practice of abortion. Since that first year, more than 1060 students have taken up the challenge of entering the competition.
Niagara Region Right to Life (NRRTL) is the sponsoring organization of the program, providing the prize money and other incidental expenses associated with running the scholarship contest.
The Interim is a promoter and collaborator publishing the essays of the three prize winners annually.
As is stated in the scholarship brochure distributed to schools across Canada, “Niagara Region Right to Life wishes to help educate and inform the younger generations about the preciousness and possibilities of human life from conception to natural death and how certain threats/trends and societal changes affect those possibilities in its beginnings”.
It is always hoped that the choice of theme for the essay component prompts candidates to think about public issues from a moral perspective.
The three prize winners for 2022-2023 iteration of this scholarship program and whose respective essays were published in the March-May editions of The Interim newspaper were:
First prize went to Anna Koh of Delta, B.C.
Second prize was won by Yara Bashoory, of Mississauga, Ontario.
Third prize was awarded to James Edwards, of Deep River, Ontario.
For the upcoming academic year, Niagara Region Right to Life is announcing a significant change in the scholarship program: the deadline for submission of complete application packages (including essay component) has been moved up from the traditional December 1 to October 6. The announcement for the three prize winners will be made in the first week of December, 2023 rather than in February of 2024.
The essay topic/theme for the 2023-2024 edition of the scholarship reads as follows:
The best lack all convictions, while the worst are full of passionate intensity. W.B. Yeats, The Second Coming, 1920. Yeats was presenting a dark, apocalyptic vision of the world just after World War I. Discuss whether or how that terrifying imagery may apply to the present state of civilization, considering the abortion issue, the seeming collapse of related traditional values and an increasing confusion about the sacredness and dignity of human life.
Please support this important educational initiative. Donate to Niagara Region Right to Life and you will receive a charitable tax receipt. You can do so online at niagararegionrighttolife.ca/donate/ or by remitting to them at 157 Catharine Street North, 2nd Floor, Hamilton Ontario, L8L 4S4.
You would be making a wonderful investment, sowing pro-life seeds. The future harvest of good works and good moral thinking will be great in the coming years.
Please note the 2023-2024 deadline date: Friday, October 6, 2023.
The winners will be declared by Friday, December 1, 2023 via an announcement by Niagara Region RTL. Criteria for the selection of winners include the quality of essays submitted.
Click here for details of the 2023-2024 Fr. Ted Colleton Scholarship Program (Brochure)
Click here for the English Poster
Programme de Bourse Père Ted Colleton 2023-2024
Click here for the French Poster
REQUIREMENTS
Eligible candidates must:
• Be senior high school student (grade 11 or 12) attending a high school (or be homeschooled) in Canada
• Submit one letter of reference from a school staff member or community representative (pastor, employer, coach, etc.)
• Provide a brief self-profile outlining their participation in school life/community activities and any interest/involvement in the pro-life cause. Note: Lack of prior involvement in the pro-life movement does not disqualify the students from the scholarships.
• The student must submit a typed original essay, approximately 1,200 words in length. The essay plus other documents should be submitted, preferably by email, to dirocco@theinterim.com, and if sent by regular mail, it must be postmarked no later than Friday, October 6, 2023.
Call 416.204.1687 with questions.
