STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES

 

Each year the South Dakota Department of Agriculture, Resource Conservation and Forestry Division, sponsors a resource conservation-oriented speech contest. Any SD student in grades 9-12 is eligible to enter. This includes public, private, and home-school students. The contest consists of three levels - local, area and state. Two winners from each of the local contests advance to the area contests. Two winners from each of the seven area contests advance to the state competition. Conservation districts take the lead at the local and area levels, with the Division coordinating the state finals. East River and Rushmore Electric Power Cooperatives and South Dakota Rural Electric Association present the winners with scholarships to be used at any college, university or accredited vocational technical school within South Dakota. Other co-sponsors include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the South Dakota Association of Conservation Districts $2,300 in scholarships State Champion ........... $1,100 Second Place ................. $750 Third Place ..................... $450