AFA’s Teen Alzheimer’s Awareness Scholarship
Do you know a teen who has been impacted by Alzheimer’s or dementia?
AFA’s Teen Alzheimer’s Awareness Scholarship provides educational funding to college-bound high school seniors who have been impacted by Alzheimer’s disease.
Applicants are asked to write an essay (1,500 word maximum) or submit a video no more than 4 minutes long, describing the impact of Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia-related illness on themselves, their families or their communities, and what they have learned.
The grand prize winner receives $5,000, with additional prizes awarded for runners up. More than $350,000 in college scholarships have been awarded since the program’s inception.
To qualify for AFA’s Alzheimer’s Awareness Scholarship, the student:
- Must currently be a senior in high school.
- Be attending a U.S. college/university in the fall following graduation.
- Must live in the United States.
- Must be a U.S. citizen.
- Submit the essay/video NO LATER than 5:00 pm ET on April 1, 2023.
- Provide all requested supporting documents.
Interested in Volunteering as an Essay Reader?
AFA is asking for your help to read these heartfelt stories from teens who have experienced Alzheimer’s disease and who are brave enough to share their story with others.
Volunteers receive 10 essays and reading these essays takes an hour or so of your time, but the heartfelt reward lasts so much longer. If you’d like to volunteer to read and review please click below.
We’re supporting the next generation in the fight against Alzheimer’s and Dementia
Applicants to AFA’s Teen Alzheimer’s Awareness Scholarship are asked to describe ways in which Alzheimer’s has impacted them. Many stories include years of visiting grandparents at memory care facilities, volunteering at nursing homes, or caring for a loved one at home. No matter the applicant’s story, they are encouraged to apply and help break the stigma of Alzheimer’s and dementia by sharing their story.
We also encourage applicants to share their stories in other venues, such as conversations with friends, to show that no one is alone in their journey with Alzheimer’s, not even teenagers. Many may discover a classmate was/is struggling with the same thing, and they never would have known if they didn’t share.
Additionally, AFA’s Teen Alzheimer’s Awareness Scholarship encourages students to think about how they will help, or have helped, others going through similar struggles. Many students write about forming a chapter of AFA on Campus to raise awareness for those impacted, and to raise funds for better treatments and a cure. Some students even have plans to go into biomedical research or healthcare, in part because of the impact Alzheimer’s and dementia have had on their life, and their desire to see a cure. No matter the student’s plan to help people, writing this out helps increase their involvement in the cause during the next stage of their life, which benefits all those impacted by Alzheimer’s in many little ways, and many big ones as well.
Winners will be announced in June 2023. Check back here for results!
Congratulations to Our 2022 Scholarship Winners!
Mary Willis (McDonough, GA)
First Place Winner
$5,000 Scholarship
Julius Josephson (New York, NY)
Second Place Winner
$3,500 Scholarship
Jonathan Marx (Birmingham, MI)
Third Place Winner
$2,500 Scholarship
Fourth Place Winners ($1,500 Scholarship)
- Amra Alibasic (Waterloo, IA)
- Jake Chamberlain (Longview, TX)
- Jessica Dantoni (Staten Island, NY)
- Katherine Gabri (Harwich , MA)
- Sara Gantz (Eustis, FL)
- Sydney Hall (Springfield, OH)
- Samyukta Iyer (Marietta, GA)
- Radeyah Kaplan (Layton, UT)
- Mia Mariano (Huntington Beach, CA)
- Sadra Marjai (Saint Louis, MO)
- Ashling McNaughton (Chicago, IL)
- Malinda Murphey (Willow Park, TX)
- Catherine Philippon (St. Paul, MN)
Fifth Place Winners ($1,000 Scholarship)
- Shayna Glass (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA)
- Nicholas Martin (Arlington, VA)
- Sabrene Mechergui (Aurora, CO)
- Violet Schultz (Madison, WI)
- Halle Seiler (Wichita, KS)
- Gracelynn Whitaker (Wilmington, NC)
Sixth Place Winners ($750 Scholarship)
- Emily Bayliss (Allen, TX)
- Michael Ciolino (Cumberland, RI)
- Joshua Connors (Dallas, TX)
- Connor Daugherty (Chicago, IL)
- Kamryn DeMarzio (Lancaster, NY)
- Payton Kiasevicz (Ringwood, NJ)
- James Litman (Fowler, OH)
- Estella Patrick (Mckinney, TX)
- Melissa Ratcliffe (Sugarland, TX)
- Jolee Rios (Arvada, CO)
- Persimmon Stetich (Salt Lake City, UT)
- Grace Walton (Wildwood, MO)
Seventh Place Winners ($650 Scholarship)
- Lindsey Barr (Wantagh, NY)
- Kinser Beaver (St. Joseph, MO)
- Olivia Haerr (Danvers, IL)
- Emily Maitret (Venice, FL)
- Isabel Valdez (Harrison, MI)
- Kade Williams (Haskell, OK)
- Ava Wilson (Middletown, MD)
Eighth Place Winners ($550 Scholarship)
- Michelle Apanco (Perris, CA)
- Kaitlyn Brooks (Steilacoom, WA)
- Aubrey Cheek (Longview, TX)
- William Davidson (Richardson, TX)
- Isabela Deneka (South Brandon, FL)
- Rana Dubauskas (Hindsdale, IL)
- Juan Pablo Garcia-Casals (Miami, FL)
- Madisen Gries (Combined Locks, WI)
- Sage Hall (Gulf Breeze, FL)
- Nathan Harrison (Pennsville, NJ)
- Sarah Howard (Delphi, IN)
- Kaitlyn Johnson (Lake Stevens, WA)
- Andrew Kaeppner (Cincinnati, OH)
- Mariana Maddox (Village, OH)
- Samantha Mattes (Morganville, NJ)
- Peyton McKee (Springfield, AR)
- Gabrielle Olson (Forest, VA)
- Kaylee Ramold (Neligh, NE)
- Joseph Rath (Arden, NC)
- Coby Russo (Boca Raton, FL)
- Ella Schlueter (Clive, IA)
- Abby Steimel (Waterloo, IA)
- Megan Vandermause (New Franken, WI)
Ninth Place Winners ($525 Scholarship)
- Nathaniel Aronov (Briarwood, NY)
- Sadie Batt (Coalville, UT)
- Ashley Brown (Knoxville, TN)
- Cecilia Catalini (Camarillo, CA)
- Delanie Cervantes (Omaha, NE)
- Austin Clinefelter (Stokes, NC)
- Kylie Coenen (Freedom, WI)
- Samuel Davis (Shreveport, LA)
- Ben Easterling (Montgomery, AL)
- Jon Ellis (Wayne , IN)
- Fiona Flowers (Towson, MD)
- Kate Golwas (Flower Mound, TX)
- Elizabeth Gonzalez (Carrizo Springs, TX)
- Ella Graenitz (Los Angeles, CA)
- Olivia Hernandez (San Antonio, TX)
- Hope Knoerle (Normal, IL)
- Roberta Lennox (Sacramento, CA)
- Owen Libunao (Winston Salem, NC)
- Kaelyn Luebke (San Mateo, CA)
- Naomi Owada (Plainview, IL)
- Jonah Raffo-Day (Mill Valley, CA)
- Brandon Singletary (Charlotte, NC)
- Matthew Wong (Arcadia, CA)
- Jason Zheng (Edison, NJ)
Tenth Place Winners ($500 Scholarship)
- Aemon Aldrich (Forest Hill, CA)
- Kara Ashby (Sarasota, FL)
- Erol Ayik (Merced, CA)
- Lindsey Barry (Loveland, OH)
- Jenna Berendes (Dubuque, IA)
- Michael Branch (California, MD)
- Cade Byer (Corvalis, OR)
- Blake Byer (Corvalis, OR)
- Erica Chen (Brookfield, WI)
- Mia Ferraro (Thurmont , MD)
- Colin Foster (Mission Viejo, CA)
- Eliza Gibbs (Solona Beach, CA)
- Zarria Green (Dallas, TX)
- Delaney Huck (Bellevue, NE)
- Saylor Koon (Lexington, SC)
- Corbyn Kubalek (Green River, WY)
- Sarah Montalvo (Boca Raton, FL)
- Alexandra Paradiso (Carmel, NY)
- Hailey Peecher (Englewood, CO)
- Emily Radick (Mountainside, NJ)
- Alexandra Sadoff (Trabuco Canyon, CA)
- Ja’Myra Shaw (Fayetteville, NC)
- Jacob Stein (Sarasota, FL)
- Sheridan Tolley (Lewisburg, WV)
- Lena Walter (Ottawa, KS)
- Grace Williams (Amarillo, TX)
- Mallory Zorn (Lisco, NE)
