Monday will soon be the most anticipated day of the week, at least for Maryland teenagers! Every Monday, vaccinated teenagers in Maryland will have a chance to win a $50,000 college scholarship, Governor Larry Hogan announced.
A total of 20 Maryland residents aged 12-17 will be eligible to win the scholarships to cover tuition and fees at a four-year public university.
To qualify, participants must be Maryland residents and receive the vaccine in the state. The “VaxU Scholarship Promotion” will select the winners through nine statewide drawings beginning next week and continuing through Labor Day.
The scholarship will be disbursed in a Prepaid College Trust or College Investment Plan from Maryland 529, which manages state-regulated college savings plans.
“If any of our 12- to 17-year-olds or their parents needed another good reason, then now they can get vaccinated for a chance to win a $50,000 college scholarship,” Gov. Hogan said during Wednesday’s press conference.
Securing the Future
According to the Maryland Department of Health, compared to the 75 percent of Marylanders 18 and above who have received the first shot, only 50 percent of those 12-17 have received it.
“Promotions like this are just one more way that we are reinforcing the importance of getting every single Marylander that we can vaccinate against COVID-19, especially our young people, and it is clearer than ever before,” the governor added.
The latest announcement comes on the heels of the state’s VaxCash lottery, which gave away daily $40,000 prizes to 40 separate vaccinated adults, followed by a $400,000 grand prize on July 4.