Saint Vladimir’s seminarians have a shot at $3,000 in scholarship money as the annual St. Matthias Merit Scholarship Essay Contest opens for 2021.
The Essay Contest is offered each year at St. Vladimir’s thanks to the generous contributions of a family of anonymous donors. The winner of the contest—open to current seminarians only—will have the award money added to his or her scholarship fund to help pay for tuition at the Seminary.
The donors select the essay topic each year. Here are the details for this year’s contest.
Essay Topic & Question:
Unlike wild dogs, domestic dogs have a long, steady history of loyalty and service to the peoples that took them in. One such dog was from Ithaca. An anecdote from “The Bow of Ulysses” by Eleanor Farjeon is as follows:
So he [Ulysses] disguised himself in rags and went up to the palace, and nobody knew who he was. Only his old dog, Argus, knew him. Argus had been a puppy when he [Ulysses] sailed away for Troy, and had waited twenty years, watching for his master's return.
(Farjeon also explores their bond in her poem, “Argus and Ulysses.”)
How does the perspective of cultures familiar with domestic dogs help the Syrophoenician woman in Mark 7:24-30, and how does it help us "watch" as advised in Mark 13:33-37? Write an essay on this topic in 750 words or less.
Submission Instructions:
Entries for the 2021 St. Matthias Merit Scholarship Essay Contest should be submitted in PDF format—double-spaced and conforming to SVS Press House Style—to Ann Sanchez at aks@svots.edu. Entries must be submitted by September 14, 2021, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
Previous Winners:
The contest is one of many offerings by the Seminary to help seminarians graduate tuition-debt free as they go forth to serve the Church. Saint Vladimir’s also administers need-based tuition grants, need-based scholarships, merit scholarships, continuing education grants, and matching grant opportunities for seminarians. These are made possible thanks to many benefactors who have graciously given funds to the Seminary.
To help more seminarians receive their education and formation, consider making a donation by visiting the Seminary’s Give Now page and selecting “Financial Aid for Current Students” as your designation.
