APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
In addition to submitting student information, each candidate must write and submit a 500-word minimum, 1,000-word maximum essay. The scholarship writing prompt is listed below.
The essay is not intended to be a report on the Westfield Chamber of Commerce, its activities, its history, or the history of chambers of commerce in general. This essay is a position paper. It reflects an actual potential situation, and your recommendation could be considered for a solution.
You are expected to create a specific solution, advocate for that solution, and discuss the challenges for implementation. In awarding this scholarship, a well-reasoned essay will be considered. The essay will be evaluated by community and chamber leaders using the following criteria:
- Engaging Content – Content uses specific examples and your authentic voice.
- Readability – Content has proper spacing and grammar and is organized so the reader can connect the dots and follow the story.
- Content is accurate
- Overall impression
- Refrain from using your name and/or identifying relationships in your essay. This is a blind review process, so we don’t want information identifying a specific person in the essay.
- Cite any statistics used.
- AI platforms (ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Claude, etc.) are not allowed to be used for this essay. All submissions will be put through an AI checker.
ESSAY QUESTION
Westfield is the fastest-growing community in Indiana. What challenges do you see our local community facing in the next 10 years, and how would you respond to those challenges?
Essays must be submitted as a Word document or PDF attachment via this online application. Those using Apple Pages, please submit a PDF.
Your application and completed essay must be submitted via this form no later than April 17, 2026. For more information, contact the Chamber via email at info@westfieldchamberindy.com.