BBB Ethical Torch Essay Scholarship
Scholarship Sponsored by Better Business Bureau Pacific Southwest
Introduction The BBB encourages introducing ethical principles early. High school students frequently encounter choices that can shape their futures and model behavior for peers. To recognize young people who demonstrate principled decision-making, the BBB is offering the Ethical Torch Essay Scholarship to qualifying students in Greater Arizona and Southern California. Scholarship Awards There will be fifteen scholarships awarded in total — five winners from Greater Arizona, five from Orange County, CA, and five from San Diego County, CA. Prize levels for each group are: - 1st place — $1,500 - 2nd place — $1,250 - 3rd place — $1,000 - 4th place — $750 - 5th place — $500 Who May Apply Students currently in grades 9–12 (expected graduating classes 2027–2030) who live and attend school in one of the following counties are eligible to apply: Apache, Coconino, Gila, Imperial, La Paz, Maricopa, Mohave, Navajo, Orange, Pinal, San Diego, Yavapai, or Yuma. Essay Requirements and Evaluation Applicants must submit an original essay (authored by the student without AI assistance) on an ethical dilemma they encountered and how they addressed it. Essays must: - Be 500 words or fewer - Include a title - Examine what the experience taught them about ethics and themselves Entries produced with the help of AI will be disqualified. Submitted essays are scored on a 1–5 point scale in four categories (maximum 20 points total): 1. Inclusion of personal viewpoints and/or examples (1–5 points) 2. Relevance to the theme (1–5 points) 3. Readability and clarity (1–5 points) 4. Spelling and grammar (1–5 points) 2026 Application Timeline Applications for the 2026 Ethical Torch Scholarship are now open. If you need a paper copy of the application, contact the BBB scholarship team. Scholarship recipients will be announced at the BBB Torch Awards for Ethics.
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