The law firm Marks & Harrison has initiated its first Driver Safety Scholarship Contest, offering a total of $4,200 in college scholarship funds to students who produce the top entries. This program is designed to address distracted driving, a major national cause of traffic accidents, while assisting students with their educational goals. The contest reflects the firm's long-standing commitment to community safety, having served Virginia and Washington DC for over a century.
Eligibility for the contest is limited to graduating high school seniors in Virginia and rising college freshmen enrolled in institutions within Virginia or Washington DC, including those attending two-year and four-year colleges. Participants must submit either an original written essay of at least 1,000 words or a video essay lasting between five and six minutes by the deadline of 11:59 p.m. on Friday, May 2, 2025. Each student is permitted only one entry.
The core requirement for submissions is to address the question: "How can we educate our community about the dangers of distracted driving, and what are some practical ways we can drastically reduce distracted driving-related accidents?" Entries can adopt a serious or light-hearted tone, provided they are original, thoughtful, and well-researched. A panel will judge the submissions based on their originality and creativity to select the winners.
Scholarship awards are structured with a first-place prize of $2,000, second place receiving $1,200, and third place awarded $1,000. The winners will be announced on Monday, June 2, 2025, and their entries will be published on the firm's website and social media platforms. This initiative not only provides financial support for education but also amplifies student voices on a critical public safety issue, potentially influencing broader community awareness and behavior.
The implications of this contest extend beyond the individual scholarships. By engaging students directly in creating educational content, Marks & Harrison is fostering a new generation of advocates for road safety. The winning essays and videos, once published, could serve as resources for schools, community groups, and safety organizations, multiplying the impact of the campaign. For the legal and insurance industries, such initiatives highlight the proactive role firms can play in prevention, complementing their work in post-accident litigation.
For students, this represents an opportunity to contribute to a vital public discourse while easing the financial burden of higher education. The focus on practical solutions encourages critical thinking about real-world problems, a skill valuable in any academic or professional field. The contest's regional scope means it will directly benefit communities in Virginia and Washington DC, areas where traffic safety remains a persistent concern. By linking scholarship funding to a safety theme, Marks & Harrison sets a precedent for how businesses and professional firms can integrate community engagement with educational support, creating a model that others might follow.
