Samantha Jennings-Jones Memorial Scholarship

This scholarship has been established by family, friends and colleagues of Sam to support women seeking to start or advance their career in cybersecurity so that others may continue her mission.  

SCHOLARSHIP AWARD (ONE AWARD):

• A $5,000 scholarship to be applied to tuition, fees, books, and required materials.
• Awards must be accepted within three (3) weeks of award notification. If the award has not been accepted it will be awarded to another applicant.
• All awards must be disbursed to the recipient's educational institution by Dec. 31st of the award year. Awards will NOT carry over to the following year.
• Scholarship awards are paid directly to the educational institution, recipients do not receive the funds directly.
• Scholarships do not renew and must be reapplied for each year.

ELIGIBILITY

• Recipients must be female.
• Must be an individual pursuing, or plan to pursue, a degree with a focus on cybersecurity, information assurance, or a similar field in the fall of 2024.
• Must be a high school senior, undergraduate freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, or graduate student. Ph.D. students are not eligible.
• GPA must be at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale (or an analogous rank based on a comparable scale).
• You must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident of the United States.
• Must be attending a college or university in the U.S.
• May be attending on-campus or online.
• May be attending full-time or part-time.
• If awarded: the funds will be sent to your school with instructions that it may be applied to tuition, fees, books, and required electronics.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

• Unofficial transcripts from your current (or most recent) educational institution.
• One letter of recommendation outlining the following.
  • How long have you known the applicant, and in what capacity?
  • What skills or abilities does the applicant have that will support them in completing a degree?
  • What other information about the applicant should be taken into consideration?
• Academic references are preferred; however, you may submit a professional letter of reference addressing the points above.
• Resume/CV  No more than three pages maximum.
• Essay questions are to be filled out in the application. Each answer should be no more than 250 words:
  • Describe your background (personal and educational) and accomplishments.
  • Tell us how this scholarship will impact your cybersecurity career path. What would receiving this scholarship mean to you?
  • What or who inspired you to pursue a career in cybersecurity? What makes you a candidate for success in information security, and what are your goals for your professional career?
  • When you graduate and secure a career in our industry, what steps can you take to “pay it forward” by supporting other women (currently in school, recent graduates, mid-career transition) new to our field?
  • Describe any contributions to the cybersecurity field i.e., volunteer work, articles, etc., and any other hobbies or extracurricular activities and what they mean to you. (Do not include links to articles).