Kish College Foundation announces Spring 2026 scholarship recipients
The Kishwaukee College Foundation is pleased to announce the student scholarship recipients for the Spring 2026 semester. The Foundation awarded 335 scholarships totaling $267,526.
ICCTA Student Scholarships
The 2026 Paul Simon Student Essay Contest and Gandhi/King Peace Scholarship are now open for submission to all Kishwaukee College students.
- Contest entries are reviewed blindly for each competition.
- Contest winners receive a $500 Spring 2026 tuition reimbursement from Kishwaukee College. Winners are recognized at the Tuesday, April 14, Board of Trustees meeting.
- Kish forwards each winning entry to the statewide competition sponsored by the Illinois Community College Trustees Association (ICCTA).
Please review the entry forms and complete contest details below.
Deadline to Submit: 4 pm Friday, Feb. 27
The Illinois Community College Trustees Association Paul Simon Student Essay Contest provides a $500 scholarship to the student who best describes "How My Community College Has Changed My Life."
Awards
- From Kishwaukee College — The Kish winner will receive a $500 Spring 2026 tuition reimbursement. The Kish winner will also be recognized at the Kish Board of Trustees meeting at 4 pm Tuesday, April 14. The winning essay will be published on the Kish website.
- From ICCTA — The state winner will receive a $1,000 cash stipend for educational expenses during the Fall 2026 semester. The state winner will be invited to the ICCTA annual awards banquet on Friday, June 5, in Lombard.
Guidelines
All currently enrolled students at ICCTA member colleges are eligible to participate in the Paul Simon Student Essay Contest at the local level. However, each ICCTA member college may enter only ONE student essay in the statewide competition each year.
Each essay must be brief (500 words or less), typed, and address the theme "How My Community College Has Changed My Life." Entrants must use “How My Community College Has Changed My Life” as the essay’s title.
Each entry will be judged on the basis of writing style, clarity of expression, and relevancy to the theme, and correct use of grammar and punctuation.
Submissions must be accompanied by an entry form. Review the entry form for complete guidelines.
The Illinois Community College Trustees Association Gandhi/King Peace Scholarship provides a scholarship to the student who best articulates the peaceful messages of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Awards
- From Kishwaukee College — The Kish winner will receive a $500 Spring 2026 tuition reimbursement. The Kish winner will also be recognized at the Kish Board of Trustees meeting at 4 pm Tuesday, April 14. The winning essay will be published on the Kish website.
- From ICCTA — The state winner will receive a $750 cash stipend for educational expenses during the Fall 2026 semester. The state winner will be invited to the ICCTA annual awards banquet on Friday, June 5, in Lombard.
Writing Prompt
Both Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., advocated for nonviolence as the way to confront the hate and discrimination that so often accompanies the disrespect of other human beings. The work and words of Gandhi and King are both an example and a road map for the way forward for our country. As a community college student, outline a plan that will educate the members of your college community about the scope of the problem and the elements of and rationale for a nonviolent response. In the description of your plan, draw on the lives and writings of Gandhi and King.
Guidelines
All currently enrolled students at ICCTA member colleges are eligible to participate in the Gandhi/King Peace Scholarship competition.
Participants must address the writing prompt. All entries will be judged on the basis of the following criteria:
- Demonstrated understanding of the significance of the work of Gandhi and King
- Content, strength and persuasiveness of argument
- Personal goals and involvement in peacebuilding efforts
- Writing style, clarity of expression, and correct grammar and punctuation
Each submission must be no longer than 500 words in length, typed single-spaced in business-letter format, and accompanied by a completed entry form. Review the entry form for complete guidelines.
2025 Winning Entries
2025 Kish Paul Simon Student Essay Contest winning entry by Tanisha Jones-Robinson
2025 Kish Gandhi/King Peace Scholarship winning entry by Hilda Osei
2024 Winning Entries
2024 Kish Paul Simon Student Essay Contest winning entry by Pedro Hall
2024 Kish Gandhi/King Peace Scholarship winning entry by Perla Gonzalez
2023 Winning Entries
2023 Kish Paul Simon Student Essay Contest winning entry by Chesney Eschbach
2023 Kish Gandhi/King Peace Scholarship winning entry by Davut Hanveliyev (Statewide
Winner)
2022 Winning Entries
2022 Kish Paul Simon Student Essay Contest winning entry by Perla Gonzalez
2022 Kish Gandhi/King Peace Scholarship winning entry by Perla Gonzalez
2021 Winning Entries
2021 Kish Paul Simon Student Essay Contest winning entry by Madeline Henson
2021 Kish Gandhi/King Peace Scholarship winning entry by Hadley Booker
2020 Winning Entries
2020 Kish Paul Simon Student Essay Contest winning entry by Kelly Benjamin
2020 Kish Gandhi/King Peace Scholarship winning entry by Kelly Benjamin
2019 Winning Entries
2019 Kish Paul Simon Student Essay Contest winning entry by Levee Callahan
2019 Kish Gandhi/King Peace Scholarship winning entry by Sophie West
News & Events
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Kish College to host Visit Day for prospective students and families
Kish College to host Visit Day for prospective students and familiesKishwaukee College will host Visit Day for prospective students and their families from 9 am-12 pm Monday, Feb. 16, at the College.