A high school assignment turned into a $1,000 scholarship for Kelsey Price, a freshman at the U.
Originally an extended essay for the International Baccalaureate program at West High School, Price used her ideas about U.S. Policy and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan to win the “Our Voice Our Country” summer scholarship competition.
The competition asked incoming freshmen to describe America’s greatest underlying problem and nominate a problem solver8212;an expert in that field8212;to report a possible solution. Price wrote that Pakistan is the most overlooked country in the Middle East, and that its relationship with the United States is crucial.
In her essay, she said, “The worst horrors of the 21st century come together at the crossroads of Pakistan: nuclear proliferation, drug smuggling, military dictatorship and international terrorism.”
Price suggested Hassan Abbas, Harvard fellow and former member of the Pervez Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto governments as the problem solver, to which he obliged. Abbas commended Kelsey for choosing a difficult topic, as well as the competition for encouraging students to think critically about both domestic and international issues faced by the United States.
“Our Voice Our Country” is a nonpartisan online forum where Americans can voice their opinions on urgent national problems and offer solutions. The forum organizes ideas and aims to deliver guidance directly from the American people to Washington, D.C. Founder Jon Mann has been involved in grassroots efforts to improve conditions in America since 1970. He recognized the need for an effective way for citizens to “participate more actively and assertively in our democracy.”
Mann designed the concept as an interactive website that opened in February.