Scholarship Application Information:
The General Society of Mayflower Descendants (GSMD) Scholarship Program offers scholarships to graduating high school seniors who are Mayflower descendants and will be attending a four-year college or university or two-year community college. In 2024, the GSMD‘s added a Native American Scholarship for graduating high school seniors with proven descent to a Native American ancestor.
ANCESTRY REQUIREMENTS
For an applicant to be considered for a Mayflower Scholarship, the Application Form must include a valid GSMD membership number for either the applicant or for a parent, grandparent, or great grandparent of the applicant. Please note that the membership number supplied must be for a living and currently active GSMD member.
If any documentation from a parent or child that is 18 years old needs to be submitted to GSMD to obtain a current GSMD membership number, applicants should begin work as early as possible (the year prior to requesting a scholarship) with the Mayflower Historian in their place of residence to complete this process. Also, you will be required to list your Mayflower Ancestor(s) from the ship.
OTHER REQUIREMENTS
Each scholarship recipient:
- must be a graduating senior
- must provide the information requested for the application
- must enter a four-year college or university or two-year community college
In the spirit of the Mayflower settlers seeking to better themselves by moving to a new and uncharted world, special consideration will be given to applicants who have demonstrated a commitment to bettering themselves.
Applicants are required to include a “Letter of Recommendation” from a teacher and a person in the community.
HOW TO APPLY
The application period for 2024 is closed. The 2025 scholarship program will begin in January 2025.
2024 Scholarship Winners:
This year there were 5 scholarships awarded in 2024:
The General Society of Mayflower Descendants 1st Prize – $6,000
The General Society of Mayflower Descendants 2nd Prize – $5,000
The General Society of Mayflower Descendants 3rd Prize – $4,000
The GSMD Native American Scholarship – $2,600
The Mary Chilton Winslow Scholarship – $2,400
The 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize scholarship winners, along with the Mary Chilton Winslow scholarship winner are all descendants of a Mayflower passenger. The scholarships were awarded based on the student’s class standing and GPA, extracurricular activities, sports, awards and community involvement. Additionally each applicant had to submit one character reference and one academic reference as well as a two part essay on the Mayflower Compact.
This year The Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants also selected a winner for a Native American Heritage Scholarship. The scholarship was based on similar criteria except the applicant’s ancestry must be tied back directly to a Native American tribe and their essay was based on the student’s Native American heritage. This year’s winner, Nathan Potter, is a member of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head.
All of the winners were selected by a scholarship committee, made up of five adjudicators and the committee chair.
First Prize:
Liam Brennan
Second Prize:
Connor Curtis
Third Prize:
Maddox Lingo
Native American Scholarship:
Nathan Potter
Mary Chilton Winslow Scholarship:
Owen Bell
