Students: put the smart phones and digital cameras you use every day to good use. The brand behind last year’s wildly popular Twitter scholarship has announced it’s reinvigorating the application process for its KFC Colonel’s Scholars scholarship program by increasing the value of a single picture to $20,000—and a college education. Through December 8, high school seniors can try to win a $20,000 Colonel’s Scholars scholarship by tweeting a single image and including the hashtag #KFCScholar.
KFC is asking college hopefuls to tweet a photo that illustrates why they exemplify Colonel Sanders’ commitment to education and enriching their communities, and why they are deserving of a college scholarship. The scholarship winner, announced on or around December 15, will receive up to $5,000 per year for the next four years to pursue a bachelor’s degree at an accredited public university within his or her home state.
“As an extension of Colonel Sanders’ vision, the Kentucky Fried Chicken Foundation awards more than 75 scholarships to college hopefuls each year,” says John Cywinski, president of KFC. “Last year, KFC broke new ground with the first-ever Twitter scholarship, and now, we’re challenging students to snap a photo that literally shows us why they deserve a college education. We’re excited to see their creativity.”
Last year, California high school senior Amanda Russell won KFC’s inaugural Twitter scholarship with this tweet: “#KFCScholar Hey Colonel! Your scholarship's the secret ingredient missing from my recipe for success! Got the grades, drive, just need cash!”
Russell, who’s now a freshman at UCLA, offered some advice to students hoping to follow her lead this year. “A single tweet changed my life when I won last year’s KFC scholarship,” she said. “My advice? Be creative, true to yourself and put your best foot forward.”
From December 1 to December 8, follow KFC on Twitter (@KFC_Colonel) and submit your application in the form of a tweeted photo, including #KFCScholar in the tweet.
Applicants do not have to include @KFC_Colonel in the message that accompanies the image, but are required to include #KFCScholar, which can be included as part of the message; e.g., “A picture’s worth 1,000 words! I’m applying to win a $20K KFC Colonel’s Scholars scholarship with a single photo #KFCScholar.” Applications will be judged solely on the photos.
Tweets will be reviewed after December 8 to determine that applicants comply with proper eligibility requirements, and the winner will be announced on or about December 15.
KFC Colonel’s Scholars, now in its sixth year, is an annual program of the Kentucky Fried Chicken Foundation, an independent charity supported by KFC, its employees and franchisees, and KFC patrons. The KFC Colonel’s Scholars’ mission is to empower students to improve their lives with scholarship resources. The program has awarded more than $5 million in scholarships since its inception.
