2025 Burris Scholarship - Lake County Educational FCU / Theory
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  • 2025 Burris Video Scholarship

    Official Application
  • Lake County Educational Federal Credit Union, rebranding as "Theory" this year, invites high school seniors to apply for one of two $1,000 scholarships. To enter, students must create a 2-minute video responding to the following prompt:

     

    “If you were to explain the benefits of joining a credit union to a friend your age, what would you say, and why should they pay attention?"

     

    Eligibility

    This scholarship is open to high school seniors who are members (or children of members) of Lake County Educational FCU / Theory. Applicants must have a credit union membership in good standing.

    Not a member yet? You can join before April 11, 2025, to become eligible. A minimum deposit of $5 into a new savings account is required to establish membership.

    Branch & Contact Info

    High school seniors who are in pursuit of an undergraduate college degree may apply. Proof of acceptance/enrollment will need to be submitted upon request.

    How to Enter

    All video scholarship entries must be submitted through this form. All scholarship applications and videos will need to be submitted by Monday, April 14, 2025, by 11:59 PM EST.

    Scholarship Judging

    Winning entries will be selected by a panel of judges. The eligible video submissions will be evaluated on the following criteria:

    • Originality & Creativity – The video demonstrates a unique perspective, innovative approach, or creative storytelling that sets it apart from others.
    • Clarity & Impact of Message – The message is well-structured, easy to understand, and emotionally or intellectually engaging. The content flows logically and leaves a lasting impression.
    • Relevance & Effectiveness in Addressing the Scholarship Prompt – The video directly answers the scholarship prompt with depth, insight, and a well-supported perspective.
    • Accuracy & Credibility of Information – All facts, statistics, and references are correct, well-researched, and appropriately cited (if applicable).
    • Production Quality & Efficient Use of Runtime – The video is well-paced, visually and audibly clear, and maximizes the given time limit without unnecessary filler or rushed delivery.

    Videos will be evaluated based on the above criteria, with a focus on creativity, clarity, and relevance. Judges will look for compelling storytelling, well-researched content, and effective communication that makes a lasting impact. We encourage applicants to be authentic, think outside the box, and make the most of their video’s runtime.

    Scholarship Submission

    Entrants are to prepare an original video that is no longer than 2 minutes in length. Videos exceeding this runtime will be evaluated on the first 2 minutes only. One video scholarship submission per entrant. Subsequent entries will be disqualified.

    Awards

    Two winners of the 2025 Burris Video Scholarship will receive a $1,000 scholarship each. Taxes (if applicable) are the sole responsibility of the scholarship winners.

    Questions

    Entrants may adress questions concerning eligibility or program rules to: scholarships@lakecountyedufcu.org.

  • General Conditions

    All federal, state, and local laws and regulations apply. The credit union reserves the right to disqualify any Entrant from the scholarship if it reasonably believes that the entrant did not follow the guidelines set forth, such as by submitting video content that is inappropriate or providing false information within the context of the scholarship concerning identity, age, eligibility, mailing address, telephone number, e-mail address, and credit union affiliation. The credit union also reserves the right to disqualify any Entrant if it reasonably believes that the Entrant has attempted to undermine the legitimate operation of the scholarship by cheating, deception, or other unfair playing practices or annoys, abuses, threatens or harasses other entrants, viewers, or the judges.

    Intellectual Property Rights

    As a condition of entry, Entrant grants the credit union a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to use, reproduce, adapt, modify, publish, distribute, and publicly display a Video (1) for the purposes of allowing the credit union and the judges to evaluate the Video for purposes of the scholarship, and (2) in connection with advertising and promotion via communication to the public. Once submitted, video entries become the sole property of the credit union.

    Privacy

    The credit union will not disclose Entrants’ personal information, such as phone number or email address, to any outside entity. Entrant’s personal information will be used only to determine eligibility and distribute scholarship funds.

    Publicity

    As a condition of entry, Entrant agrees to permit the credit union to use his or her name and/or likeness and Video for advertising and promotional purposes without additional compensation, unless prohibited by law.

    The Entrant voluntarily consents to granting the credit union permission to use his or her photograph(s), name, story and/or voice for communication purposes, including without limitation in publications on the web, and releases the credit union from any liability that may result from a use consistent with said release.

    Warranty

    By entering, Entrant represents and warrants to the credit union: that the submitted video is the participant’s own original work; that the participant is the sole owner of the video and all of the rights associated with it; that the video does not violate any rights of others; and that the video does not display any inappropriate material. In addition, participants release and hold harmless Theory FCU, their respective affiliates, directors, officers, employees, attorneys, and representatives from any and all liability for any injuries, loss claim, action, demand, or damage of any kind arising from participation in the 2025 Burris Video Scholarship.

    Entry Errors

    The credit union is not responsible for any malfunction of the scholarship submission site or any late, lost, damaged, misdirected, incomplete, illegible, undeliverable, or destroyed videos due to system errors, failed, incomplete or garbled technological malfunctions, or other telecommunication transmission malfunctions.

  • Application & Video Submission

  • To be eligible for the 2025 Burris Video Schoilarship, you must be a high school senior who is either a member, or the child of a member, of Lake County Educational FCU / Theory.

    Not a member yet? You can join before April 11, 2025, to become eligible. A minimum deposit of $5 into a new savings account is required to establish membership.

    Branch & Contact Info

  • You must be a current high school senior to be eligible for the 2025 Burris Video Scholarship.

  • Format: (000) 000-0000.
  • Extracurricular activities are structured pursuits that you engage in outside of your academic coursework. They represent your interests, passions, and commitments beyond the classroom.

    Common types of extracurricular activities include:

    • School clubs and organizations (debate team, student government, newspaper)
    • Athletics (team sports, individual sports, recreational leagues)
    • Arts programs (music, theater, visual arts, dance)
    • Community service (volunteering, service projects)
    • Part-time jobs or internships
    • Religious groups or youth organizations
    • Academic competitions (science fairs, math olympiads)
    • Personal projects (starting a blog, creating an app)
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  • The video submission must meet the following criteria:

    • Video submission should not exceed 2 minutes of runtime. If it is longer than this, only the first 2 minutes will be evaluated.
    • Video must be in one of the following formats: MP4, MOV, .WMV, .AVI, MPG, or MKV.
    • Video file size must not exceed 500MB.
    • Video entries must not be derogatory, offensive, threatening, defamatory, disparaging, and libelous or contain any content that is inappropriate, indecent, sexual, profane, impolite, slanderous, and discriminatory in any way.
    • Video must not contain content, material, or any element that displays any third-party advertising, slogan, logo, trademark, or otherwise indicates a sponsorship or endorsement by a third party.
    • Video must be an original, unpublished work that does not contain, incorporate, or otherwise use any content, music, material, or element that is owned by a third party or entity. Failing to provide proper documentation of permission to use such materials will result in the entry being disqualified.
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