More students eligible to apply for SeaWorld Orlando’s 2016 Environmental Scholarships

SeaWorld Orlando is aiming to help more local students pursue careers related to the care and conservation of animals and the environment with its 2016 Environmental Scholarships. Now in its second year, the program has undergone some changes.

Students who are chosen as recipients of SeaWorld Orlando’s 2016 Environmental Scholarships will be receiving more college assistance from the theme-park company than winners in past years. Instead of awarding $1,000 scholarships, SeaWorld is giving four winners each a one-time award of $5,000 to be used at any college or university they choose to attend.

In addition, the scholarship program also is open to more students than it was in 2015. Any Florida high school senior who has a GPA of 3.0 or higher is eligible to apply. Last year, the program was only open to students in Orange County, which is where the theme park is located.

The remainder of the application process is the same. Students must visit this page on seaworldparks.com to complete the application. The application consists of written questions about the student’s plans to help protect the environment. Each applicant also must submit a video that summarizes his or her conservation plans. The video cannot be longer than 5 minutes and has to be uploaded to YouTube.

The deadline is March 31, 2016.

All of the applications received will be evaluated by representatives of SeaWorld’s Education & Conservation Team. They will consider originality, creativity, content, organization, neatness and the general presentation of the application.

The winners will be announced in the spring, and their awards will be presented by SeaWorld at the winning students’ school awards ceremonies.

All winners will be notified by phone and/or email. Any award notification returned to the sponsor or its agencies as undeliverable will result in disqualification and the presenting of the award to an alternate winner. All application materials submitted become the property of SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, and none will be returned.

The fine print of the rules: Winners may be asked to complete photographic and video release forms. No substitution of awards will be offered and non-cash prizes may not be redeemed for cash value. The award money is intended to provide funding for the winners’ college education and may not be transferred to a third party or be used for unrelated purposes. By accepting an award, all representatives agree to permit SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment and SeaWorld Orlando to use their name, voice, picture or other likeness for advertising, marketing, public relations or other promotional purposes in connection with awards program or otherwise without further compensations. Federal, state and local taxes on award money, if any, are the responsibility of the winners.

A global leader in animal care and conservation, SeaWorld has assisted more than 25,000 orphaned, injured or ill animals over the past 50 years.

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