After running the inspirational Teen Travel Writers Scholarship for the past three years, Family Travel Forum decided it was time for travel writers ages 18-26 who shared their tales with the travelBIGO.com community to be eligible to win their own scholarship.
The Spring 2010 scholarship period lasted for one month and in that time FTF received over 700 travel blogs from young people. There were college kids exploring Europe for the first time, newly married couples taking their honeymoon, first-time parents traveling with their new families and even brave, adventurous types exploring the world on their own or contributing their skills to communities around the globe.
Also of interest, many of the Young Travel Writers Scholarship applicants were from outside of the United States or starting their professional lives abroad, thus giving a multi-national scholarship an even wider scope.
Because of the impressive range and quality of the travel blogs, the team of editors from FTF had trouble selecting the finalists, who numbered less than 5% of all applicants. These travel blogs, the cream of the crop, were distinguished by an original viewpoint accompanied by a photo or video aesthetically in tune with the destination.
The finalists’ work was sent to team of professional writers and editors at the Society of American Travel Writers who tackled the difficult task of choosing one winner and four Honorable Mentions.
The 2010 Young Travel Writers Scholarship Winners:
First Place ($150)
Trip to Nice, France, by Winslow Crane-Murdoch
Honorable Mentions (iPod Shuffle)
A Golden Morning at Goldbug Hotsprings, by Sunshine Davis
London Bridge, by Kristina Drummond
Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia: An Enchanting Desert of Salt, by Maija Wallace
Authentic Chai with You, by Sarah Joy Mikolajczyk
Finalists
Wild Trip to Africa, by Indeah Thomaier
The Weekend of My Life, by Mike Gualdoni
Wide Open Spaces with My Lifelong Best Friend; My Mom, by Brielle DePugh
Sugoi desu ne! Student Travels in Tokyo, by Barbara Toperzer
Immersion into the Mountains of Antigua, Guatemala…,by Brittany Irvine
Ceade Mile Failte, by Chelsea Froning
K&A, by Jean Lee
Shenandoah- Daughter of the Stars: Driving the Skyline, by Kolika Chatterjee
Flying Solo with Picture, by Anoush Shirzadegan
Multnomah Falls, Oregon, by Casey Woodworth
Train Tales, by Jessica Brooks
Medicine, Philanthropy, Perseverance, and Beauty, by Esha Chhabra
Berlin, by Martin Ceisel
Southbound Train Leaving Beijing, by Jamie Cogar
Peace Found in Galveston, by Mara Carter
By the Starlight, by Joanna Miller
From Textbook to Travel Experience, by Elizabeth Carleo
Beirut, by Edward Jackson
Zimbabwe, by Andrew Otis
I’ve Been So American, by Emily Bands
What is Too Much Poverty?, by Hemali Thakkar
It’s Alright to Be an American Again, by Olivia Gilmore
Plane trip with an Infant to Florida, by Larissa Davisson
Iterations of Equality, by Sharon Carney
To learn more about upcoming scholarship opportunities or read more great travel blogs, visit the travelBIGO.com community.
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