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 $428,000 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, 2024.
- 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.
Our 2024 entry period is now closed. Thank you to everyone who submitted an entry. Winners will be announced on this page at a later date. Please check back in June for additional information.
Congratulations to Our 2023 Scholarship Winners!
Vincent Yao (Malvern, PA)
First Place Winner (essay)
$5,000 Scholarship
Matthew Aasen (Chantilly, VA)
First Place Winner (video)
$5,000 Scholarship
Clarice Nguyen (Gilbert, AZ)
Second Place Winner (essay)
$2,500 Scholarship
Charles Black (Portland, OR)
Second Place Winner (video)
$2,500 Scholarship
An Li (El Paso, TX)
Third Place Winner (essay)
$1,250 Scholarship
Madelyn Coy (Avon, IN)
Third Place Winner (video)
$1,250 Scholarship
Fourth Place Winners ($750 Scholarship)
- Mehar Bhasin (New Rochelle, NY)
- Dylan Faaland (Sammamish, WA)
- Erin Faulkner (Naperville, IL)
- Abraham Haxhi (Hamden, CT)
- Thomas Kase (St. Paul, MN)
- Emily Ledford (Spartanburg, SC)
- Gabriella Martinez (San Antonio, TX)
- Noah Orioles (Appleton, WI)
- Teagan Puryear (Carmel Valley, CA)
- Elena Rodrigues (Wilmore, KY)
- Jia Rosenbaum (Coppell, TX)
- Allie Sigmon (Conover, NC)
- Jack Tueting (Batesville, VA)
Fifth Place Winners ($650 Scholarship)
- Kendall Abercrombie (Yorktown, VA)
- Taylor Dukes (Middletown, DE)
- Isabelle Gattone (Buffalo Grove, IL)
- Devin Harkins (Plano, TX)
- Foster Johnson (Helena, AL)
- Faith Olson (Janesville, MN)
- Alyssa Scaramell (Waxhaw, NC)
- Jocelyn Silverberg (Fitchburg, MA)
- Bodhi Terrell (Urbandale, IA)
Sixth Place Winners ($550 Scholarship)
- Easha Ashraf (San Diego, CA)
- Olivia Buckel (Erie, PA)
- Cooper Cross (Delphi, IN)
- Peyton Deutsch (Dayton, OH)
- Nicholas Fahme (San Diego, CA)
- Courtney Harrow (Hartfield, VA)
- Lydia Kaiser (Tyler, TX)
- Kemari McClary (Mount Kisco, NY)
- Jack Pawlowski (Taunton, MA)
- Xander Perry (Hope Mills, NC)
- Colin Pollard (Denville, NJ)
- Alyssa Rizzo (Avon, OH)
- Eleanor VanHorn (Fenton, MO)
Seventh Place Winners ($500 Scholarship)
- Lexie Askew (Apison, TN)
- Brooklyn Boren (Crestwood, KY)
- Jenna Capps (Sacramento, KY)
- Makenzie Christensen (Kalispell, MT)
- Naja Davis (Greenville, SC)
- William Davis (Washington, DC)
- Ashley Downing (Union, KY)
- Madeline Gabhart (Mackville, KY)
- Olivia Glandorf (Garner, NC)
- Sarah Hettinger (Greeley, CO)
- Xaria Iverson (Inglewood, CA)
- Kezia Krishna (Davie, FL)
- Madison Liberoni (Latrobe, PA)
- Andres Lopez (Seward, NE)
- Zoe Miyamoto (San Diego, CA)
- Evelyn Moran (North Little Rock, AR)
- Amanda Mrazek (Lombard, IL)
- Briana Musso (Port St. Lucie, FL)
- Claire Nguyen (Cypress, TX)
- Anastasia Rea (Toledo, OH)
- Simone Schaefer (Waterloo, WI)
- Kadyn Shea (Hertford, NC)
- Hannah Sorenson (Chesapeake Beach, MD)
- Sydney Williamson (Charleston, WV)
- Kaleb Young (Batesville, AR)
Eighth Place Winners ($450 Scholarship)
- Jesse Cai (Brentwood, TN)
- Stephen Cecil (Downers Grove, IL)
- Catherine Collins (Winter Park, FL)
- Elizabeth Fado (Arlington, VA)
- Alexandra Freeman (Corbin, KY)
- William Gamalero (Madison, FL)
- Michael Geloso (Larkspur, GA)
- Elizabeth Hall (Frisco, TX)
- Kianny Juarez-Goiz (Detroit, MI)
- Aminah Lawrence (Crete, IL)
- Sam Li (Las Vegas, NV)
- Abbigail Quinn (Bangor, ME)
- Fernando Sanchez-Reich (Grand Rapids, MI)
- Brendand Teears (Philadelphia, PA)
- Courtney Vaughn (Oxford, NC)
- Clark Wahrenbrock (Columbia, MO)
- Makenzie Woodall (Greenbrier, TN)
Ninth Place Winners ($400 Scholarship)
- Allison Atkinson (Lexington, SC)
- Kavon Barr (Winchester, VA)
- Belize Berry (Steamboat Springs, CO)
- Kendall Buechler (Celestine, IL)
- Sophia Choucair (San Antonio, TX)
- Nicholas Cortes (Towaco, NJ)
- Jane Ferry (Fairfax, VA)
- Sienna Hoefer (Trumbull, CT)
- Emma Hoyt (Hermitage, TN)
- Chloe Khoury (Youngstown, OH)
- Leah Koslowsky (Wilmington, DE)
- Anjali Luckhoo (South Ozone Park, NY)
- Alexander Lugones (Apex, NC)
- James Malloy (Flossmoor, IL)
- Sophia McKarus (Sylvania, OH)
- Isabella Meisenheimer (Fond Du Lac, WI)
- Carly Neidig (Milton, PA)
- Katie Orth (Waldo, WI)
- Mary Katherine Stewart (Winnie, TX)
- Annika Taranko (Ludington, MI)
- Jared Thiry (Waterloo, IA)
- Adrienne Toberman (Rice Lake, WI)
- Andrew Xu (Rockville, MD)
