Honors Program Scholarships 

Honors Scholars

Incoming freshmen students are eligible for an essay-based scholarship in the Honors Program. 

Up to 15 scholarships of $1,000 dollars each will be awarded. These scholarships are one-time awards. Funds will be disbursed $500.00 fall, and $500.00 spring, contingent upon the student registering for HON 1045 in fall and HON 2220 in spring. This award is not repeatable.

Topic

The topic for the essay for this year is:

Books are a one-sided conversation—but what if they weren’t? Write a letter to the author of the last book you read, whether the author is living or dead. In this letter, you are invited to consider discussing with the author the following elements:

• Character development
• Plot points
• The impact of the book on you or society
• Emotional impact
• Writing style
• What kept you reading

The letter should be 750 words maximum.

Scoring

The letter will be scored using the following categories:

• 40% Substance: what your letter is about. Do you clearly discuss the topic? How do you approach showing the relevancy of the book to your world view? Do you stray from the topic?

• 30% Mechanics: how your letter is written. Does it have any grammatical errors? Typos? Missed commas? Misused words?

• 20% Structure: how your letter is set up. Do you have clear transitions between ideas and paragraphs? Do you have a clear format and a logical order?

• 10% Polish: how your letter appears. Does your letter include interesting elements? Is it ready for others to read? Look for words and phrases that add a shine to your writing.

Please send your letter in an email note to Delaney Atkins atkinsd@apsu.edu and do not put your name or any other identifying information on the essay itself. Ms. Atkins will code the essays so that they can be read and scored anonymously. The essay must be sent in a Word document format attached to the email.

The deadline for submissions for the 2025-26 academic year is Friday, 2 May, 2025, 11:59 PM.

Honors Ambassadors

Honors Ambassadors fulfill two principal functions: they mentor incoming freshmen, and they serve as representatives of the Honors Program.   

As mentors, the ambassadors reach out to incoming freshmen to help them adjust to college life at Austin Peay. This may mean helping with registration, helping them find their way around campus, or just being there as a friend for some coffee and conversation. Ambassadors also attend the pre-semester events for incoming Honors freshmen. Ambassadors meet with their students every other week throughout the fall semester, and on ad hoc basis during the spring. Ambassadors will receive training in peer mentorship that may lead to other opportunities.

Ambassadors receive a $500.00 scholarship distributed in the spring term.

In addition, three Honors Program students will be chosen as Lead Ambassadors to coordinate the Ambassadors and to plan and help carry out the pre-semester calendar for incoming Honors freshmen. These students will have a greater time commitment and more responsibility than the Ambassadors. They will be expected to be at AP Days, ROW events, and recruitment events. Lead Ambassadors will also receive training in peer mentorship that may lead to other opportunities.

The Lead Ambassadors will receive a $1,000.00 scholarship, distributed in the spring term.

These scholarships are available only for current sophomores and juniors in good standing in the Honors Program. They are not automatically repeatable.

These scholarships are also not available for students both in the Honors Program and the President’s Emerging Leaders Program.

Applications for these scholarship programs are due by 31 Dec.