Essay Contest
We are in our 2nd year of participating as a club in The Optimist International Essay Contest. We encourage the students who live within the Weld RE-4 school district area (including charters and home-schoolers) to enter our local competition.
Established in 1983, for this program, students are asked to write a 400 to 500 word essay on a specific subject. After club and district competitions, winners advance to the international contest. After 1988, scholarships were awarded to the top three international winners.
The topic for the 2026-27 school year is:
“Finding my Voice in a World Full of Noise"
Optimist International, with funding from the Optimist International Foundation, sponsors an essay contest with a grand prize of a $2,500 scholarship from Optimist International. Students under the age of 19 are invited to submit an essay on a pre-assigned topic between October 1st, 2026 & January 11, 2027.
This contest is open to students under the age 19 as of October 1st of the current Optimist International year (October 1 – September 30) and who are not enrolled as a degree seeking student of a post-secondary institution. The student, who is educated in the United States, Canada or the Caribbean must compose a 700-to-800-word essay around a central idea. US contestants attending school on a military installation outside the country are eligible to enter in their last US home of record. The contest is designed to develop writing and critical thinking skills. One scholarship of $2,500 per District is awarded by Optimist International each year.
The deadline to submit your essay, with all necessary paperwork, i.e., application form, copy of birth certificate, green card or passport, etc. is January 11th, 2026.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
1. Please make sure the rules are followed carefully. Cover sheets, page formatting, word count, citations, and neatness are all important. Penalties are assessed for failure to list the topic, failure to type or double space the essay, failure to stay within the word limit of 700-800 words and any form of self-identification.
2. A new requirement from OI is that essays be run through an AI detection program such as “Grammarly” or “Google Docs”. Students must sign a statement on the student application indicating they are aware of this requirement.
3. Key judging criteria include Material organization, Creativity, Grammar, Punctuation, and Spelling and Neatness.
4. Be sure to complete the application carefully and ensure it has all the requested signatures and provides the required age-verification documentation
5. The Windsor Optimist Club winner will be notified end of February 2027. The Club will submit their winning essay to the District Chair for the District competition to compete for a $2,500 college scholarship. The District-level scholarships are funded by the Optimist International Foundations.
If you are interested in participating in this event complete the application & return completed applications to:
Windsor Optimist Club, PO Box 83 Windsor CO 80550 or windsoroptimistclub@gmail.com