(New York, NY – September 24, 2019) Family Travel Forum (FTF) and its travel industry partners congratulate the winners of the 2019 FTF Teen Travel Writing Scholarship. Completing its 13th year, this annual merit scholarship is hosted by the award-winning vacation guide to promote teen literacy and reward teens’ best travel blogs with cash prizes for college or future travels.
Between May 1 and July 12, 2019, more than 1,100 students in US, Canada, American-International schools or home-schools applied to blog about a travel experience, whether near or far, that had a meaningful impact.
Family Travel Forum is appreciative of the sponsors’ generous sustaining support in encouraging more than 56,000 teens over the years to share their travels. Allianz Global Assistance USA, Travel Media Showcase, TMS Family Travel, Carnival, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, CityPASS, Rough Guides and Hip Homeschool Moms made the 13th annual scholarship possible.
Finalist judge Kit Bernardi of KitTravels, an award winning journalist and photographer, said, “I enjoyed judging again. The finalist essays were good reads all about the power of travel to bring people together, transform our views and be better humans. I always learn a lot from these young writers.”
FTF Scholarship Coordinator Michelle Marine said, “It is impressive to read these empowering travel stories written by such young people. Travel has the ability to leave a great mark on humanity and I thoroughly enjoyed learning how students approach cultural diversity, interact meaningfully even without a common language, and share their profound learning experiences with the travel community.”
After preliminary rounds of judging, winners were selected from the top 3% by a team of professional journalists who write for publications including Lonely Planet, Taking the Kids, Time Out, USA TODAY, South China Morning Post, AAA Publications, FamilyTravelForum.com and more. Finalist essays were judged on creativity and eloquence; a sense of place; emotional impact; vocabulary and style; and grammar, punctuation and spelling.
We congratulate the winners of the 2019 Family Travel Forum Teen Travel Writing Scholarship and thank all bloggers for submitting such great work.
2019 FTF TEEN TRAVEL WRITING SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS:
Winners receive a cash stipend plus a GoPro Travel Bag from sponsor Allianz Global Assistance USA:
1st Place – $1,000, ANGEL ISLAND’S MYSTERIES by Karen Yang
2nd Place – $500, PONDS, PAGODAS, AND PRAYER AT NANPUTUO TEMPLE by Kaitlyn Cao
3rd Place – $250 – THE SINISTER SITE OF SACHSENHAUSEN by Michael Parnell
2019 FTF TEEN TRAVEL WRITING SCHOLARSHIP HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Honorees receive a Certificate of Commendation, their choice of Rough Guides travel guide and 10 will receive CityPASS ticket booklets:
GET LOST by Anna Dunn
A SPECIAL NIGHT IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC by Mizuki Kai
HER NAME WAS XOCHITL by Cristian Conzalez
YELLOW MOUNTAIN: FROM A PICTURE TO REAL LIFE by Andrew Xu
AS WHITE AS SNOW by Betty Kang
IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE FALLEN By Anthony Kehl
DYING TO GO HOME by Julia Butler
DISCOVERING MY IRISH FAMILY HERITAGE by Madigan Wilford
FOUND IN BULGARIA by Victoria Dinov
TURKISH MUSE by Omar Barakat
TEMPERATURE AND ELEVATION: AN INVERSE RELATIONSHIP by Rhiannon Eplett
BITTER TEAS, SWEET VIEWS by Elizabeth Shull
INDIA: A TALE OF TWO WORLDS by Dharshan Varia
POLEBRIDGE, MONTANA, YOU’RE MY HUCKLEBERRY by Keziah Dutt
THE DISCOVERY OF A NEW LANGUAGE IN HAITI by Abigail Almeda
TO HELL AND BACK by Jackson Ellis
GRAND CANYON RIM2RIM: A TEST OF FORTITUDE by Rachel Kline
HUMBLING HISTORY LESSON-A VISIT TO ANNE FRANK’S HOUSE by Marenda Macking
A SICILIAN TIMETABLE by Brooke Carruthers
“FOURTH” WORLD TRAVELS; BRINGING HOPE TO HAITI by Gracen McDonald
About Family Travel Forum
Family Travel Forum has been the trusted vacation planning resource for global travel with kids and grandkids since 1996. FTF’s expert and community content has been seen on Disney’s Family.com and other sites, in “America’s Most Popular Family Vacations,” “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Best Family Destinations,” “Amazing Places to Take Your Kids in North America” and by millions of traveling families. In addition to co-hosting the annual TMS Family Travel Summit and conferences, FTF ventures include the “The Family Vacationist” blog and e-alert; and Family Travel Consulting to the trade in partnership with Taking the Kids.
About Allianz Global Assistance USA
Operating in 34 countries, Allianz Global Assistance USA is a leading insurance and assistance company that provides insurance to 40 million U.S. customers annually. The company is best known for its Allianz Travel Insurance plans, which protect travelers and student travelers from unexpected trip cancellations or losses while traveling. Plans are available in annual or per trip coverage. The company’s partners include leading travel agencies, airlines and other travel suppliers.
Contact:
Michelle Marine
Email: [email protected]
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