Outstanding Leadership Award / Scholarship

(Similar to the FIRST® Leadership List Award)

This award celebrates outstanding student leaders whose passion for and effectiveness at attaining FIRST ideals is exemplary.

The students who earn this award are great examples of student leaders who have led their teams and communities to increased awareness for FIRST and its mission. All the while, they are achieving personal technical expertise and accomplishment.

Grand Rapids Girls Robotics Competition –
Outstanding Leadership Award / Scholarship

Deadline for Submission: September 21st, 2026

Submit to: GrandRapidsGirlsRobotics@gmail.com (with the subject “GRG Leadership Award Submission “)

The students who earn this award will be great examples of student leaders who have led their teams and communities to increased awareness for FIRST and its mission all the while achieving personal technical expertise and accomplishment.

Outstanding Leadership Award Process

• Applicants must be in their junior or senior year of high school
• Submissions are to be authored by the student applying for the award
• At the top, list the applicant’s name, team number, and grade (this does not count as characters)
• Applicants write an essay of less than 3,000 characters including spaces and punctuation (see below for the essay content)
• Email to: GrandRapidsGirlsRobotics@gmail.com with the subject “GRG Leadership Award Submission”
• Essays will be read and the top 8 will be down-selected for an interview with the judges
• These 8 will be interviewed in person at the event
  * When your team checks in, you will be asked to sign up for an interview time on Saturday morning

Essay Content

In your application, we want you to answer the following two questions. The goal is to share how your experience with robotics has helped you grow personally and how it will help you achieve your future goals.

1. Your Future Impact
How do you plan to use your passion for science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) to make a positive impact in the future?
This is your chance to tell us what you’re passionate about. Do you want to invent a new product, start a business, improve education, or solve a problem in your community? Tell us what you want to achieve and why it’s important to you.

2. Your Leadership & Journey
How has your involvement with robotics and the core values of FIRST shaped you into the leader you are today?
Share a story or specific examples that show how robotics has developed your leadership skills. Tell us how these experiences have helped you build the skills you need to achieve the goals you described question 1.

In a nutshell: We want to hear about what you want to do in the future and how your experience with robotics has given you the skills and inspiration to get there. Be yourself and tell your story!