By Emily Zeitman
We’re excited to announce the winner of the
Unigo Flavor of the Month Scholarship. The question was, “If you were an ice cream flavor, which would you be and why?” Check out the winning essay, followed by scholarship tips from our winner.
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I was rainbow sherbet. Pretty, but lonely. No one showed much interest in me. I tried on some toppings, but coconut, brownie pieces, and candy-coated nuts clashed with me. So I surrendered to my place behind the mint chocolate chip and the butter pecan. I let them have the glory. I’d been passed by so many times, I started to feel comfortable in the back of the freezer as I was pushed further into the corner to make room for the flavor of the month. I figured it would go on like that until someone cleaned out the freezer. They would be surprised to realize I’d even been in there at all. It didn’t happen like that though.
When they were sick they found me. They recognized and appreciated I was cool and comforting. My sweet simplicity was soothing, familiar and welcomed. I wasn’t trying to prove anything with loads of ingredients. I just wanted to help. I finally realized my value. I’m honest, straightforward, reliable, resilient, loyal, easy to work with, and the one you reach for in a crisis. Sometimes I get my hopes up that I’ll be someone’s first choice and feel disappointed when I’m not. But mostly I’ve accepted that having brownie pieces and coconut isn’t who I am. I don’t need to mask who I am. I am unapologetic. I am rainbow sherbet.
— Phoebe S.
Scholarship tips from our winner
How to create a winning scholarship essay
“I’m truly grateful to have been chosen as the winner of the Unigo Flavor of the Month scholarship! I don’t know if there’s a secret to writing a winning essay, but I’ll share what’s worked for me. Whether I’m writing a paper for school, a scholarship essay, or a thank-you note to my Aunt Shirley for that lovely knitted wool ski hat (which comes in handy in Los Angeles), I write in my own style — my own voice. I don’t write what I think is expected. I don’t always adhere to the rules of proper sentence structure. I don’t underestimate the power of choosing the perfect word to express or evoke a feeling. And I don’t stifle my personality because that’s what gives my writing life.”
How to find scholarships
“
I HIGHLY recommend Unigo’s Scholarship Match. It’s super easy — just enter some basic info about where you live, what you plan to study, any hobbies you may have, and hit submit. The site automatically populates a list of the scholarships that are a good fit for you based on the data you provided. It’s seriously amazing and so convenient! Not to mention a major time-saver because you no longer have to scour Google looking for scholarship opportunities that might be right for you.
Another tip for finding scholarships is to go to the app store on your phone or tablet and search ‘scholarships.’ It’s super easy and you’ll be amazed at how many opportunities there are! That’s how I found Unigo!”
Take Phoebe’s advice and be a scholarship winner yourself. Use our
Scholarship Match to get personalized matching from millions of scholarships. Or, if scholarship money just can’t cover it, try our
LoanFinder.