Beca Walter Cantrell

ELIGIBILITY

Eligibility requirements for receipt of the Walter Cantrell Memorial Scholarship are as follows:

A) Applicants must be dependents (sons, daughters or legally adopted dependents) of any member who has remained in good standing as defined in the Constitution of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades Constitution with IUPAT District Council 16 for a period of not less than one year. 

B) Applicants must be under the age of 25 years and must attend within one year of the date of award, a certified College, University, Vocational Tech/Trade School or other such institute of higher learning. Award winners must provide proof of enrollment in the qualifying institution of their choice within the period of one year of the award date, failure to do so will constitute a forfeit of the award.

ESSAY PROCESS/APPLICATION PERIOD

Scholarships will be awarded to eligible applicants based on the content of an essay to be written by each applicant. This essay will be written on a chosen subject matter as determined by the following process:

In the month of June in each year, all Board Members will submit a topic for essay consideration and the Chairman 

of the Board will choose from those the subject matter for the upcoming year’s essay. The essay topic and a scholarship 

application form will be accepted for consideration up to the 

submission date of July 31^st, 2026. Submit your essay and application via google forms using the link below. Essays must be in PDF or Word format. Essays are required to be no less than one thousand words without exceeding two thousand words and are to be typed or prepared using a legible word processing program (Microsoft Word or suitable alternate). Essays should not reference any personal relationships with members within District Council 16, Local Unions and Crafts. Essays cannot be written using any form of AI. All submissions will be thoroughly checked using AI detection software. 

THIS YEAR’S ESSAY TOPIC IS: 

“With the drastic and immediate rise of technology, automation, and artificial intelligence the current workforce is facing new and unique challenges.

How are technology, automation, and artificial intelligence changing the workforce and what role should organized labor play in protecting workers during these times?”

Any submittals not meeting the above requirements will be removed from consideration. 

Exception: Persons who have received a previous award from the Walter Cantrell Scholarship Fund are not eligible for consideration.

Application Form and Essay Submitted using the link below

https://tinyurl.com/mppwfvrp