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Mesothelioma.com Scholarship

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The Mesothelioma.com Scholarship awards $4,000 annually to one student whose life has been impacted by cancer. Mesothelioma.com offers this scholarship to provide financial assistance to students in their pursuit of higher education. If you or a close loved one have battled a form of cancer, we want to hear your story.

  • Application Status:

    Now accepting applications for 2024 academic year

  • Application Deadline:

    March 31, 2024
    11:59 PM (EST)

  • Scholarship Award:

    $4,000


01. Who We Help

Who Our Scholarship Helps

The Mesothelioma.com Scholarship helps students whose lives have been affected by any type of cancer, not just mesothelioma. The following types of students are eligible to apply:

  • Those who have experienced their own cancer diagnosis, current or past
  • Those who have a parent, sibling, immediate family member or close friend who has battled, or is currently fighting, cancer

We know how devastating a cancer diagnosis can be. Through our work with mesothelioma patients and their loved ones, we recognize the mental, emotional and financial strain this disease can cause.

02. History

Mesothelioma.com Scholarship History

Heather Von St. James and her childThe first Mesothelioma.com Scholarship was awarded for the 2015 school year. The scholarship program was created in honor of mesothelioma survivor and advocate, Heather Von St. James, and her husband Cameron, who enrolled in college after Heather’s diagnosis.

Now, we want to hear about your experience, how it affected you and how we can help.

“When I got sick, our world as we knew it crumbled. I had to quit my job as a salon owner and stylist and concentrate on treatment. Our income was instantly cut. Cameron, my husband, knew that he had to get his degree to do better for our family, including our newborn child.
Furthering one’s education is something Cam and I are incredibly passionate about, and we know from experience how hard it is to balance family, jobs and school (not to mention a wife who’s fighting cancer). But while it can be difficult, the rewards are too numerous to count. Hopefully, this scholarship can give a little extra help to someone in a time of need.”

– Heather Von St. James
Pleural Mesothelioma Survivor

03. Application Requirements

Scholarship Application Requirements

Students who submit full applications will be considered for the Mesothelioma.com Scholarship. The application process is broken down into four steps: determining your eligibility, writing an essay, compiling your additional documents and correctly formatting and submitting your application.

Step 1: Determine Your Eligibility

People affected by any type of cancer, not just mesothelioma, are eligible to apply to the Mesothelioma.com scholarship. In addition to being affected by cancer, applicants must:

  • Be enrolled full-time at an accredited two-year or four-year university, community college, junior college or graduate degree program in the United States
  • Be a United States citizen
  • Be in academic “good standing” and have a minimum grade point average of 3.2

If you meet these requirements, you are eligible to apply for the scholarship.

Step 2: Write An Essay About Your Cancer Experience

Applicants must submit a written essay (500 – 1,000 words) or video submission (4 – 5 minutes) answering the following questions:

  1. How has cancer affected your life and outlook on your goals?
  2. How did this adversity shape who you are today?
  3. What would this scholarship mean to you? Why is it important?

In the top left corner of the essay document, or in the description of your video submission, please also include a header with the following information:

Format

Student Name

Date of Submission

Details of Cancer You Encountered

Field You Wish to Study

Example Student

Jordan Nguyen

March 31, 2024

Father, Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Biochemistry, then Med School

Step 3: Gather Additional Documents

In addition to the essay, please submit all of the following:

  • Unofficial academic transcript: Your transcript is used to verify your GPA.
  • Proof of enrollment: Eligible applicants are enrolled at an accredited two-year or four-year university, community college, junior college or graduate degree program. Proof of enrollment may be an official letter verifying your enrollment, your class schedule for the current semester or a bursar bill showing your deposit. High school seniors may submit their acceptance letters if they have not yet committed to a college.
  • One letter of recommendation (LOR): Your LOR should detail why you are the best candidate to receive the scholarship. Preference will be given to students whose LOR speaks to why they deserve this scholarship, specifically. We prefer students to submit their letters directly on our portal. However, if a recommender is not comfortable with this, they can email their letter directly to us at [email protected]. Instruct them to include your full name and “Letter of Recommendation” as the subject of the email. On the application portal, the student should then submit a document stating the name of their recommender.
  • Honors & volunteer work: This optional document should detail any honors you have received and any volunteer work you have done. Please summarize in one document with 1 – 2 sentences for each activity. A CV or resume is an acceptable substitution.

Step 4: Format and Submit Application Using Application Form

Students can submit their application using the form further down this page. Please submit all documents in PDF format with the following naming conventions:

  • LastName_Enrollment
  • LastName_Essay
  • LastName_HonorsVolunteerSummary
  • LastName_LOR
  • LastName_Transcript

Have a Question About the
Mesothelioma.com Scholarship?

Contact us at [email protected].

Mesothelioma.com Scholarship Selection Process

For the Fall 2024 Mesothelioma.com Scholarship, all applications are due by 11:59 PM EST March 31, 2024. All entries will be reviewed by the staff at Mesothelioma.com once the deadline passes. The winner will be chosen based on:

  • Commitment to academic excellence
  • Financial need
  • Positive impact the applicant has had on those around them
  • Quality of their submitted materials
  • Strength in the face of adversity

The student who is awarded the $4,000 scholarship will be notified no later than May 1, 2024. Funds will be disbursed to the student’s school for the Fall 2024 semester. The winner will then be announced through Mesothelioma.com’s social network of over 50,000 followers. Mesothelioma.com will only contact the winner of the scholarship.

Any attempt to falsify claims in an applicant’s story will result in immediate disqualification.

04. Apply Here

Mesothelioma.com Scholarship Application Form

Applications for the 2024 scholarship are now open. The application deadline is March 31, 2024.

    • Choose to Submit an Essay or a Video


      Please submit all documents in PDF format with the following naming conventions:

      • LastName_Enrollment

      • LastName_Essay

      • LastName_HonorsVolunteerSummary

      • LastName_LOR

      • LastName_Transcript

      • Attach PDF Proof of Enrollment

      • Attach PDF Honors & Volunteer Summary

      • Attach PDF Letter of Recommendation

      • Attach PDF Transcript

    Privacy policy: All information is secure and will never be released

    TRUSTe

    05. Previous Winners

    Previous Mesothelioma.com Scholarship Winners

    We select winners based on the strength of their application and character. Once we’ve reached out to the year’s winner, we work with them to create a blog post about their story. Learn about some of the recent Mesothelioma.com Scholarship winners.

    06. Common Questions

    Common Questions About the Mesothelioma.com Scholarship

    What does a good letter of recommendation look like?

    Good letters of recommendation should be written for the Mesothelioma.com Scholarship and detail why the applicant deserves this specific award. Applicants may want to show recommenders the “Mesothelioma.com Scholarship Selection Process” section of this page to see what we look for in a candidate.

    Potential recommenders include teachers, mentors, bosses or coworkers, coaches, doctors or club leaders. We prefer these letters to not come from family members.

    How do I know my application went through?

    Once you click “Submit Application” at the bottom of the form, the page will reload and display a message that reads “Thank you for your submission [Your Name]! It has been sent successfully.” You will not receive a confirmation email. If you are worried your application did not go through, you may email [email protected] to confirm with our team.

    When will I hear back from you?

    Each year, we contact the winner by May 1st. We do not contact individuals who do not receive the scholarship. We publish an annual blog post announcing the winner to the public around the beginning of June. We encourage students who did not win to reapply if they will still be in school the following year.