Delana Kelley, a senior at Eminence Independent High School in Henry County, has won the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority’s (KHEAA’s) 2024 “Promote Your School” scholarship essay contest. One of the subjects was “How education makes a community stronger.”

“Living in an area with high poverty rates has its challenges,” Kelley wrote in her essay. “Through innovative technologies, highly developed enrichment paths and intense interventions, schools can stand against those challenges and help build a stronger community.”

Kelley will receive a $500 scholarship that she can use at the college of her choice. Both Kelley and Eminence Independent High School received certificates in honor of her winning essay. KHEAA staff will do a photo shoot at the school, with the photos used in future KHEAA publications.

“Delana’s essay is motivational in showing how educational opportunities in rural areas can help students to achieve their personal goals and also result in a stronger community,” KHEAA Executive Director Jo Carole Ellis said. “All Kentuckians investing in their education have a positive impact on their communities’ prosperity.”

Every year since 2003, KHEAA has hosted an essay contest in which the winner has received a scholarship and a photo shoot.

A school must participate in the Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship (KEES) program for one of its students to be eligible to enter for the contest. Students from schools featured in the past five years — Madison Southern High School, Frankfort High School, Butler County, Bullitt East and Warren East — were not eligible for the 2024 contest.

For the 2025 contest, KHEAA is considering changing the topics of the essay. Interested students can get updates about the contest by going to the KHEAA website. Students can also find a list of past winners at that website.