Lompoc Odd Fellows extends North County scholarship contest to July 31; $1,000 up for grabs
Jun. 26—The Lompoc Odd Fellows for the fourth consecutive year is sponsoring an annual essay scholarship contest for recent graduates who reside in the North County and are college-bound.
The contest — where the winning essayist will receive $1,000 — has been extended and entries are being accepted through July 31.
Likely due to the pandemic, the fourth annual contest, which usually ends in May, had to be extended to drum up more participation, according to the lodge's leader, Noble Grand Joseph Benton.
"We wanted to give graduating seniors another shot at the contest by extending the deadline to the end of July; and we'll announce a winner in early August," Benton said. "We have been blessed to receive enough entrants every year, but this year we just didn't have enough."
This year's contest will ask recent graduates to express in at least 300 words what friendship means to them in light of the pandemic.
"Odd Fellows are all about friendship, and to us it's just as important as ever," Benton explained. "This year we're asking those graduating seniors who are off to college if they think about friendship differently now that the pandemic has been going on for more than a year and we are finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel."
College-bound students and their parents can access contest rules and steps for participating at lompocoddfellows.com/essay.
Lisa André covers lifestyles and local news for Santa Ynez Valley News and Lompoc Record.
