April 3, 2012 > College scholarship essay contest College scholarship essay contest Submitted By Maggie Johnson Rand McNally and USA TODAY have announced the kick-off of an essay contest titled "America the Beautiful" for students in 7th through 12th grade. Students can win a $10,000 college scholarship, a NOOK Tablet(tm), publication in an eBook, and a trip to Washington, D.C. Teachers whose classrooms participate in the program have the opportunity to win $5,000 worth of products for their schools. The challenge for students is to describe the one place in the U.S. that truly inspires them. It could be their hometown, Monument Valley, or the Lincoln Memorial. "Rand McNally has been selling educational products to schools for more than a century. We have seen social studies de-prioritized in classrooms in recent years due to budget constraints, while technology has made the world smaller and geographic awareness a more critical skill for the 21st century," explained Dave Muscatel, CEO of Rand McNally. "By encouraging kids to write about a "place," our goal with this program is to weave social studies content back into core curriculum, as well as to get kids feeling good about their country. With this goal in mind, the "America the Beautiful" contest is the first of many digital programs we have planned for 2012." Essay entries are due by May 14, 2012. Visit bestoftheroad.com/education for additional information and complete contest rules.