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Scholarship

New Scholarship for 2024

HOA Lake Scholarship

The Illinois Lakes Management Association is proud to announce a new scholarship in 2024 that will be geared towards Lake and Homeowner Associations. We invite all lake and HOA associations to submit a brief proposal for projects that address a specific need or opportunity related to their lake.

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About Our Scholarship Grant and Application

Scholarships Announcements
For Students attending an Illinois college or university or, Any Illinois resident attending college or university in Indiana, Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, or Wisconsin.

Funding SourcesSlide strip showing aquatic scenes
The Undergraduate/Graduate Scholarship is supported by the membership of ILMA through the donations received from the bucket raffle and boat raffle at the annual conference 

Mr. Robert Esser. long-standing member of ILMA, and lake monitoring volunteer, is sole sponsor of the Robert Esser Student Achievement Scholarship.

The ILM Research Scholarship is funded by the ecological restoration company ILM, headquartered in Waukegan Illinois. Research projects should focus on new advances in the science and practice of ecological restoration in wetlands, streams, ponds, and lakes including the study of invasive species and nuisance aquatic plant management.

Who's Eligible to Apply?
Illinois Undergraduate/Graduate Scholarship ($1,000):
Full time undergraduate or graduate students who have a college or university cumulative GPA of at least 2.5 on an undergraduate 4.0 scale and 3.0 on a graduate 4.0 scale, enrolled in a natural resource discipline related to lake and/or watershed management. Eligible applicants include Illinois residents enrolled in accredited colleges and universities within the above listed six states and/ or students enrolled in an accredited Illinois college or university. Emphasis will be placed on scholarship money going towards work or project related expenses in a lake / watershed area.

Robert Esser Student Achievement Scholarship ($500):
Illinois resident attending an Illinois accredited college or university. A full time junior or senior undergraduate student or graduate student is preferred. Attendance at the Annual Meeting of the Illinois Lake Management Association (ILMA) is strongly encouraged. Student must be enrolled in a lake-related curriculum with clearly articulated personal goals and objectives geared toward Illinois lakes. Emphasis will be placed on volunteer experiences.
The ILM Research Scholarship ($1,000):
Illinois resident attending an Illinois college or university, or one of the five Midwest universities mentioned above. A full time junior or senior undergraduate student or graduate student is preferred. Student will be required to send quarterly updates on their research project to ILM and will be invited to present their findings to ILM staff if logistically appropriate. Attendance at the Annual Meeting of the Illinois Lake Management Association (ILMA) is strongly encouraged. Student must be enrolled in a science curriculum with an emphasis on ecology or natural areas management.

What are the Primary Selection Criteria?
The ILMA Scholarship Committee will consider academic achievement, major field of study, statement of career goals and student special interests. Most awards are given on the basis of academic achievement combined with a course of study consistent with our mission.

Notification and Disbursement of Awards
The ILMA Scholarship Committee meets in January of each year to review the applications and determine the awards. All applicants will be notified by February 1st as to the committee’s final decision. Scholarship funds are provided to the recipient to offset the tuition and fee expenses for the appropriate semester(s) and/or approved research project
expenses.

What’s my deadline to get the application in?
Applicant must submit the Scholarship application forms to meet the deadline date of December 31. Application forms can be obtained from the ILMA web site or by contacting the Illinois Lake Management Association at 1-800-338-6976 (Access Code 01).

P. O. Box 20655, Springfield, IL 62708

How the application process works:
The student completes this application and returns it and all supporting materials by the due date, to the address listed above. Late applications will not be considered. Once the application is received, the Illinois Lake Management Association will:

Send a letter confirming application receipt within 10 days of the application deadline, and
Provide a timetable for the review process and award notification.

Before sending this application did you:
• Properly complete the application?
• sign the application form?
• attach or forward the necessary (2) letters of recommendation?
• attach or forward the required “Official Transcripts”.
• Include a project description, budget, and description of how the scholarship money will be spent?
Send the completed application and all supporting materials by December 31st to:

Illinois Lake Management Association
P.O. Box 20655
Springfield, IL 62708

Download PDF

Registration Information
Legal Residence Information (if different from above)
Additional Information
Files allowed: txt, rtf, pdf, doc, zip. 2mb limit. Note: First year graduate students must provide both undergraduate and graduate (when available) transcripts.
Files must be less than 1.95 KB.
Allowed file types: txt rtf pdf doc zip.
* List any school, civic, community, honorary, fraternal, or other organizations in which you have been actively involved.
* List any volunteer experience you have had (excluding lake or watershed related experiences):
(If available, paste in the text from your resume)
(Briefly describe any experience you have had that relates to lake or watershed management. Include volunteer experience, internships, projects, or other involvement)
(Briefly describe each)
Briefly discuss how your coursework, internships or other experiences are relevant to ILMA’s mission statement.
Letters of Recommendation
The applicant must provide (2) two letters of recommendation. The purpose of these letters is to identify reasons the applicant should be considered for a scholarship/grant award. The letters should include a discussion of both the applicant’s qualifications and the value of the proposed project. Acceptable references include: College Advisor, Professor, Supervisor, or Employer. Letters may be included with the application or sent separately to the address on the application.
Files accepted: gif, jpj, png, txt, rtf, pdf, doc. 2 mb File limit.
Files must be less than 1.95 KB.
Allowed file types: gif jpg png txt rtf pdf doc.
Files accepted: gif, jpj, png, txt, rtf, pdf, doc. 2 mb File limit.
Files must be less than 1.95 KB.
Allowed file types: gif jpg png txt rtf pdf doc.