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Sunward Thrive and Rise Through Learning Essay Contest Process

Sunward has supported student members for 30 years with its annual essay contest. In 2024, we awarded a total of $12,000 to nine students, with a top prize of $4,000. In 2025, we will award a total of $15,000 in prize monies. Sunward strives to be transparent and open with members about our processes, including how winners are selected. More information follows.

SUBMISSIONS

All applications are captured via Submittable, a third-party vendor that supplies the online platform we use to collect essays and supporting documentation, complete judging phases, and to store student and judge applications during the competition.

Children of Sunward employees and volunteers (e.g., those who serve on Sunward’s Board of Directors or Supervisory Committee) are not eligible to participate in the essay contest.

JUDGING

Judging is comprised of three phases:

Application Review

The first phase of judging is an initial review of the essay contest applications. A team of Sunward employees screens all submissions to ensure applications meet all required qualifications. All personal identifiable information is removed from essay files, and a unique submission number is assigned to each applicant. This ensures the anonymity of each applicant and impartiality throughout the remainder of the judging process.

AI Evaluation

All essays are entered into AI detection software to evaluate the use of AI. Any essay with a 5% (25 words) or greater use of AI will be disqualified.

Applicants who are disqualified or who do not advance to the next round will be notified by email. This email does not state the reason why an applicant did not move forward. If the applicant would like more details about their disqualification, they can reach out to Sunward for information.

Judging Round 1

In this round of judging, essays which made it through the application review are scored through Submittable. Judges consist of members and employee volunteers who are at least 18 years of age and are not related to any of the applicants. If a judge is related to an applicant, they are not eligible to participate as a judge in the competition. Approximately 30 volunteer judges participate each year.

Essays are divided evenly among all judges. Judges score each essay from 1 to 10 among four different categories:

Scores are collected in Submittable and totaled. The top 10 essays with the highest scores proceed to round 2 of judging.

Judging Round 2

In the final round, all remaining essays are reviewed by all judges via Submittable. Judges will review each of the 10 essays and assign a ranking of 1-10 among the same four categories described in Round 1.

Scores are collected in Submittable and totaled to determine a final score. The applicants with the highest final scores are deemed the winners and receive awards. In the case of a tie for first place, both applicants will receive the full prize amount.

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