Eligibility: Applicants are invited to participate in an essay contest sponsored by The Rudder Association (TRA). Applicants must be a US Citizen or resident alien, currently enrolled, as a graduate or undergraduate student of Texas A&M University, College Station. The Rudder Association's mission is to defend and perpetuate the Core Values of loyalty, integrity, excellence, leadership, selfless service and respect at Texas A&M. We provide a voice for all Aggies who honor its values, traditions and culture. We are Aggies to the Core.

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Last year, we received numerous excellent submissions on academia's effect on MLK's dream of judging by character rather than skin color. This year we are asking students to submit no more than one essay with the topic being “Which of our Core Values is most significant to you and how will you live this out as a current and former student?"

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Prizes: First prize $500, second $300, third place $200 in the form of a bank check. The first place paper’s author will be invited to attend and read their entry at the TRA annual members meeting on March 23rd in College Station. Prizes will be awarded in March following our annual meeting.

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Format: 500 to 700 words, double spaced (approximately two pages), include author’s name, class year, major, email, phone number and hometown. Essays will be evaluated anonymously on their adherence to the prompt, logical development of ideas, persuasiveness, and utilization of facts and background information. They should be free of grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. Any plagiarism is automatic cause for rejection.

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Deadline: Papers must be received by March 1, 2024 and formatted in Microsoft Word OR PDF and should be submitted online with the above required information to admin@rudderassociation.org. Papers failing to meet the above format and information requirements will not be considered;

 

Judging: Joan Quintana '92, Matt Poling ‘90, Mark Browning ’88;

 

As a condition of this prize award, TRA would have right to publish and to use the content of the three winning papers in its mission to preserve, protect and perpetuate the Texas Aggie Culture, The Spirit of Aggieland and its Core Values and Traditions.  By submitting their papers, contestants agree to these terms.