American Legion Scholarships
The American Legion family has several programs that provide college or advanced education scholarships in various forms for our community and our veterans in local, state, and national programs. This document provides brief descriptions and website links to access more information about these scholarships and programs.
I. Damascus American Legion Post 171 members work throughout the entire year to earn money to fund the scholarship programs they sponsor.
A. Damascus American Legion Post 171 Scholarships for High School Seniors
The Damascus American Legion Post 171, Damascus, Maryland announces the scholarship program for the school year 2024–25. Four scholarship grants in the amount of $2,000 and two in the amount of $1,500 will be awarded in the spring of 2025.
To be eligible for consideration, an applicant must:
1. Be a citizen of the United States.
2. Be a graduating high school senior with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher who, in 2025, will attend an accredited post-secondary academic institution, vocational, trade, or business school full-time.
3. Home school students must be in a state-approved program.
Applicants will be judged on Scholastic, achievement, leadership, character, citizenship, school and community activities, work experience, and the content and quality of their essay. THE DECISIONS OF THE SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE WILL BE FINAL.
Send applications to:
Damascus American Legion Post 171
PO Box 171, Damascus, MD 20872
Attention: scholarships
Or to: Scholarship@legionpost171.org
The application must be submitted and complete no later than 11:59 pm on April 1, 2026.
The successful recipients of the scholarships will be announced at their high school's Awards Ceremony or other appropriate time.
The scholarship grant will be sent directly to the university, college, or institution indicated by the recipient and credited to the student's account.
B. The American Legion Constitutionally Speech Contest
The Oratorical Contest scholarship program gets underway in December of each year. The actual competitions begin in January. High School aged students compete with orations they write about various aspects of our Constitution. Interested parties should click on the link below for more information. The Post provides monetary awards for a first, second and third place in the Post competition. The first place winner then goes on to compete in the Department of Maryland competition.
C. The Boys State program.
Boys State participants may be eligible to apply for the Samsung American Legion Scholarship.
For information about Boys State with Post 171, see: https://www.legionpost171.org/boys-state
Scholarship details may be found at: http://www.legion.org/scholarships/samsung
II. The Damascus American Legion Auxiliary Unit 171 scholarship program includes scholarships for female students who are interested in furthering their education in institutions of higher learning. Applicants will be judged on scholastic achievement, leadership, character, work experience, their submitted essay, and school and community activities. Complete details are listed on the scholarship application, which will be available in late January by clicking on the link below. For additional information, please contact Terri Nuccio-Youngs. For technical issues or questions, please contact Mandy Buckley.
A. High School Seniors General Scholarship Program. This year Auxiliary Unit 171 will be offering two scholarships, in the amount of $1,500, for female high school seniors. Applicants will be judged as described above.
The application must be submitted and complete no later than 11:59 pm on April 30, 2026.
B. Medical Career Program. This year Auxiliary Unit 171 will offer one scholarship for females in the medical career field in the amount of $1,500. Students may be in high school or college and may be granted this scholarship award up to four times.
The application must be submitted and complete no later than 11:59 pm on April 30, 2026.
C. Girl's State Program.
This is a participatory program in which students become part of the operation of local, county and state government. At Girls State, participants learn the rights, privileges, and responsibilities of franchised citizens. The training is objective and centers on the structure of city, county and state governments. Operated by students elected to various offices, Girls State activities include legislative sessions, court proceedings, law-enforcement presentations, assemblies, bands, choruses and recreational programs.
Legion Auxiliary units select high school juniors to attend the program. In most cases, individual expenses are paid by a sponsoring unit, a local business or another community-based organization.
Girls State participants may be eligible to apply for the Samsung American Legion Scholarship. Details may be found at: http://www.legion.org/scholarships/samsung
III. The American Legion, Department of Maryland scholarship programs include their General Scholarship and the Oratorical Contest.
A. The General Scholarship is available to children and grandchildren of veterans. Applicants will be judged on scholastic achievement, leadership, character, their submitted essay, and school and community activities. Complete details are listed on the scholarship application which may be downloaded using the link below.
https://mdlegion.org/formspage.htm (to see all) or download the application directly here.
B. The Department participates in the National Baseball Scholarship Program. Post baseball participants are nominated by the Department to receive this scholarship. Information about this scholarship may be found at http://www.legion.org/scholarships/baseball
IV. The National American Legion scholarship program includes several scholarships.
A. The Legacy Scholarship
B. The Baseball Scholarship
C. The Samsung American Legion Scholarship
D. The National High School Oratorical Contest
E. The Eagle Scout of the Year
V. The National American Legion Auxiliary supports a number of scholarship programs that benefit veterans, the children of our veterans, and the members of the organizations within the American Legion Family.
If you are interested in applying for a scholarship, check out the scholarship link below for eligibility requirements, deadlines, and application forms.
https://www.alaforveterans.org/Scholarships
A. The Children of Warriors National Presidents Scholarship
B. The Samsung American Legion Scholarship
C. The Non-Traditional Student Scholarship is for members of the Legion family who are interested in improving their education or technical training.
D. The Spirit of Youth Scholarship Fund. This program has three separate scholarship opportunities for participants in American Legion Auxiliary programs.