Throughout their decades of partnership, Nationwide and NACo have remained committed to helping families plan for retirement and the future.  The NACo/Nationwide scholarship essay contest is an educational opportunity for high school students transitioning into a new stage of their lives. To get them started, Nationwide will award four college scholarships – each worth $2,500 – to four high school seniors whose parents or grandparents participate in a NACo Deferred Compensation 457 plan.

Engaging young people in civic life and responsibilities is a great way to show high school students the valuable roles that counties play in the lives of their residents. The 2023 scholarship program’s goal is to help ensure that young people get involved and stay involved in local government — and understand the importance of being good stewards of their future finances.

How to apply:

Complete an online application. As part of the application, the high school senior will be asked to write a short essay. Please keep the response to 500 words or fewer, and the student should answer in his or her own words.

Graduating high school seniors who are legal U.S. residents are eligible to apply. Please keep the following criteria in mind:

• The applicant’s parent, grandparent or legal guardian must be enrolled in and have a current employee funded 457(b) Plan offered through the NACo Deferred Compensation Program.
• Applicants must enroll in a full-time undergraduate course of study no later than the autumn term of the 2023-2024 school year or at an accredited Trade School or two or four-year college.
• Immediate family members of NACo employees, members of the NACo Defined Contribution and Retirement Advisory Committee or its governing board of directors, staff of individual state Association of Counties that are members of the LLC and Nationwide employees are not eligible to apply; this program is not offered outside the United States.
• The application and entry must be submitted online between April 1 and May 31, 2023.

Judging criteria:

• Scholarship entries will be reviewed by a committee of associates from both Nationwide and NACo; scholarship recipients will be chosen based on the content of their entry
• All entries submitted will become property of Nationwide and may be used for educational and/or marketing purposes; the original author will be credited

How scholarship recipients will be notified:

• Scholarship recipients will be notified in July 2023
• The winner must enroll in an accredited institution by the autumn term of the 2023-2024 school year
• A check payable to the institution will be mailed directly to the institution of each scholarship recipient during the fall of 2023

For more information and to see this year’s essay question, visit nrsforu.com/scholarship