Ark Behavioral Health Scholarship

Congratulations To Our Previous Winners

Fall 2024 Scholarship Winners

• First-Place: Matthew Fleming – Hampton University
• Runner-Up: Anacia Macon – Temple University

Read Matthew and Anacia’s winning essays here.

Fall 2021 Scholarship Winners

• First-Place: Henry Tran – Albany Medical College
• Runner-Up: Vanessa Grifford – Arizona State University

Read more about Henry and Vanessa here.

Ark Behavioral Health is giving away a scholarship of $1,000 to help pay for books, tuition, or daily expenses. We’re asking students to answer the question “How does the ‘Sober Curious’ Movement Challenge Traditional Ideas of the College Experience?” in 600-800 words.

‘Sober Curious’ & The College Experience

The idea of being ‘sober curious’ was initially popularized by author Ruby Warrinton in her book, “Sober Curious: The Blissful Sleep, Greater Focus, Limitless Presence, and Deep Connection Awaiting Us All on the Other Side of Alcohol.” 

Since the book’s publication in 2018, the sober curious movement has taken off around the country, especially among younger generations and college students.

For students, the college experience is sometimes synonymous with party going and drinking alcohol to excess. One national survey saw a third of all full-time college students admit to binge drinking in the past month.

This essay asks you to explore how being ‘sober curious’ challenges heavy alcohol use on campus, and what it means for college students to practice “mindful drinking.”

Scholarship Award Details

• 1st Place: $1,000
• Runner-up: $250

Eligibility 

To be eligible to enter this scholarship contest, applicants:

• Must be a U.S. citizen or otherwise legally residing in 1 of the 50 United States, Puerto Rico+Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia
• Must be a student pursuing a college or university degree (Associate’s,
  Bachelor, Master, Doctorate) or a trade certification in a technical college
• Must be enrolled full-time at a post-secondary institution
• Must be at least 18 years old at time of entry
• Must have a minimum 2.50 GPA

Application Process & Guidelines

1. Applicants will have to submit an original written essay of 600-800 words answering the question “How does the ‘Sober Curious’ Movement Challenge Traditional Ideas of the College Experience?”
2. Ensure you meet all eligibility requirements
3. Submit your essay via email to [email protected] with “Scholarship Essay Submission” as the subject

(Include within your email your name, age, university/college institution, and preferred email.)

Winners will be notified by email—check back in August 2024.

When submitting your essay, please adhere to the following guidelines:

• Essay is your own original work
• Essay is no longer than 800 words
• Essay submission deadline: July 15th, 2024
• Scholarship award announcement: August 1, 2024 (We sincerely apologize for the delay in announcing our scholarship winner. Due to an unforeseen absence, we were unable to select a winner. Please check back on Tuesday, August 6, 2024. Winners will also be notified by email.)
• Scholarship will be awarded for the Fall 2024 semester. Scholarships will be awarded directly to the university through the financial aid department (or however the university chooses) to be distributed to the winning student.

Please Note: There is no fee involved in this scholarship program.

1. We do not share applicant’s data with anyone; we keep your data confidential with us
2. We do not want any credit card information at any stage
3. Winners shall be published on this site and shall be contacted separately 

What are we judging the application on?

• Creativity 
• Clarity of story or idea
• Topic relevance 
• Quality of content

If you have any questions or want to know more about our scholarship, please contact us at [email protected].

Winning essays will appear on our website at https://www.arkbh.com and will be used for the purpose of raising awareness for mental health during the pandemic.