Beating the Odds Essay Contest

Beating the Odds held its first essay contest with students at Great Valley High School, Malvern, PA. The essay contest was open to all twelfth-grade students in the Honors Biology 2 class at Great Valley High School. The course is part of an initiative that was started in 2017 with the Beating the Odds Foundation and the UPMC Brain Institute. The essays had to meet certain criteria and focused on students describing what they learned about success using the Beating the Odds Foundation’s definition of success and how the program/class impacted their future plans. The 2022 awards winners were: Elena Reyes Plazola and Emma Mazzio. Each student received a $500 scholarship. The continuation of this initiative during the 2021-2022 school year was made possible by Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America.