Illinois Psychiatric Society Essay Contest Offers Cash Price for High School Students

The Illinois Psychiatric Society (IPS) is hosting the second annual Carl C. Bell, MD Memorial Award Essay Competition as a community initiative for Illinois High School students. This Essay Contest is open to all high school students in Illinois and submissions are due on June 1, 2024.

The award recipient will receive a $500 cash prize. Their submission will also be presented at the 2024 IPS Annual Meeting and published in “Mind Matters,” the official IPS newsletter publication. Second and third place award recipients will receive a $250 cash prize.

This year’s essay topic: How has social media impacted your mental health and/or the mental health of your social networks, family, schools, and/or communities?

Papers will be judged on originality, relevance to the assigned question, punctuation, spelling, thoughtfulness, creativity, and use of references. It is preferred for the papers to be typed but neat handwriting accepted. The paper should be no more than 400-600 words maximum, double-spaced, and font size 12.

It is preferred to complete the submission form on the ISP website. If you are unable to use the submission form, a paper copy of the essay can be mailed to Illinois Psychiatric Society: 113 McHenry Rd, Ste 239, Buffalo Grove, IL 60089. If mailing in an essay, please provide the following information: Author’s Full Name, Address, Contact Email Address and Phone Number, Age, Grade, School District, and Name of School.