The 2025 application will open on December 2.

MOLAS Scholarship

Meaningful Opportunity through Learning and Advancement Scholarship

Mission: A multi-year scholarship opportunity for low-income, first-generation college students (including non-traditional students) from La Plata County, Colorado for two- to four-year post-secondary education. Students must plan to attend a Colorado public college, university, tech, trade, or vocational school. Other local Four Corners institutions may be considered.

Applicants must be first-generation college students (neither parent has completed a bachelor’s (or four-year) degree). The MOLAS scholarship is need-based for low-income individuals, including non-traditional students, who are rising first year college students.

The winner of the scholarship would receive up to 85% of in-state tuition and room & board at an eligible school. Housing accommodations must be within a reasonable price range for the area, and in a multiple occupant arrangement (in a dormitory or housing with roommates). This scholarship is renewable for up to four years.

It is the intention of the MOLAS Scholarship to support 1 – 2 students per year who might otherwise not have the opportunity to further their education without financial help.

Please note, you may be asked to engage in outreach efforts to market the scholarship. This may include speaking opportunities, testimonials, and recorded interviews.

Recommendations and referrals from contacts at local schools and nonprofit organizations will rank highly in the selection process.

• The application will open December 2, 2024
• The deadline to apply is Sunday, March 2, 2025.
• An eligibility phone interview will occur in early March.
• Finalists must be available for an in-person interview the last week of March. 
• Decisions will be announced in early April.

Please fill out the application below and submit your documents prior to 11:59 PM on March 2, 2025. We highly recommend you review all the information we are asking for below in order to properly prepare to submit your application. PLEASE NOTE — uploaded documents will not save in your draft application, so collect all of your required documents to upload and wait to upload them all at once, right before you are ready to submit. We also recommend that you type your answers in a separate document, so that you do not lose any of your progress in the event of a technology issue. Once you have all your information ready to submit, copy and paste your answers and upload your attachments all at once and submit.

It is possible to save your draft application as you go along, if you bookmark the link or email yourself the link to your draft application. However, PLEASE NOTE — we do not have access to your draft, and we cannot provide you with the link if you lose it! So, to save yourself time, keep separate copies of all your work on the application until your submission is confirmed.

We will also accept hard copies of your application if you have any trouble submitting online, or if you prefer working with hard copies instead. Hard copies of applications will be received in person at the Community Foundation (765 E. College Drive #1, Durango) prior to 4 PM, February 28, 2025. Hard copies are not required if you submit online, and you will receive an email confirmation of your online submission within 48 hours of submission.

Questions? Please call Rachel Rosenthal at the Community Foundation at 970-375-5807 x 3. Or email her at rachel@swcommunityfoundation.org.

For the essay question you are asked to upload, here are your instructions:

Choose ONE of the following prompts and upload the essay (500-750 words) in the appropriate spot below. All essay responses must be typed in an easily readable font and double spaced. Please include your name on each page.

(Option A) Tell us about a time in your life when you have persevered through something difficult and succeeded. (Your example can be big or small). Also include in your essay evidence that you are determined to persevere in your post-secondary classes until you graduate, and that you need this scholarship to do so.

OR

(Option B) Write about future career plans, what steps you have taken toward that goal, and how you have given back to your community. Also include in your essay evidence that you are determined to persevere in your post-secondary classes until you graduate, and that you need this scholarship to do so.