Luminari Kicks off Teen Scholarship Award

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — Luminari, a Pittsburgh-based non profit, has announced its Sixth Annual Luminari Awards, merit-based scholarships for students in grades 7 through 11. The essay competition for this prestigious award is open to all schools in the Pittsburgh region. Each winner will receive a merit-based scholarship for an all-expense-paid admission to Luminari’s  I Want to be an Ambassador! Camp in summer 2017. The scholarship has a value of $1,200.

One award winner will be selected from nominees presented by participating schools. The second winner will be a student enrolled in his or her school’s ESL (English as a Second Language) program.

“Civility and respect are important, and this program focuses on diplomacy,” said Hilda Pang Fu, Luminari’s founder and president. “The work we are doing is perhaps more important now than ever.”

The eighth annual I Want to be an Ambassador! camp will be held June 13– June 21, 2017.  It is a unique seven-day experience designed to teach young people the art and skills of diplomacy in order to solve problems in their communities.  Camp includes a dynamic week of hands-on activities both in Pittsburgh and in Washington, D.C.

The 2017 event will build upon the success of last year’s camp, where students met face-to-face at the State Department with the chief of protocol for President Obama, as well as with diplomats from the German and Royal Thai embassies.

Schools wishing to qualify for any of the Luminari Award scholarships must commit to opening the essay competition to all eligible students and submit completed applications from students in their school. There is no limit to the number of applications each school may accept, however each school must nominate one applicant for the award. Luminari Award winners will be announced in February 2017.

For more information about the competition and guidelines to participate, schools should contact Luminari as soon as possible at 412-877-1888 or visit Luminari’s website at www.luminari.org.

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Luminari is a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit organization founded to support and create activities that broaden minds, inspire innovations and promote community engagement.  www.luminari.org