Scholarship Program

The Maryland Coalition of Police and Deputy Sheriffs is proud to sponsor an annual scholarship program for Maryland high school seniors with plans to attend college.  Maryland COPS seeks to challenge Maryland's youth to the rewards of a career in law enforcement by offering scholarship assistance. This $1,000.00 annual reward is presented to the high school senior who submits the best essay on Maryland law enforcement and the general theme "Maryland Law Enforcement: A Commitment to Community" or "Drugs and Violence in our Schools and Community".  The essay is limited to no more than 1500 words, and should be submitted by April 30 of each year. The winner is announced during National Police Week of the same year. Upon acceptance at an accredited college or university, the winner will submit his or her letter of acceptance. Payment will then be made to the winner's college or university account. The coordinating committee shall choose the winner from the submissions postmarked by midnight on April 30.  Each submission should include the name, social security number, full address and telephone number of the high school senior submitting the essay, as well as the name address and telephone number of that student's high school. In addition to the essay, all applicants should include a separate brief paragraph of no more than 150 words concerning the student's plans for college. All submissions become the property of the Maryland Coalition Of Police and Deputy Sheriffs.

General Topic: Maryland Law Enforcement: A Commitment to Community" or
"Drugs and Violence in our Schools and Community".

Length of Essay: 1500 words or less.

Submissions must include:

a.- Student's Name, Address, Telephone Number and Social Security Number.
b.- Name, Address and Telephone Number of the student's high school.
c.- Paragraph containing no more than 150 words concerning the student's plans for   college.

Deadline: April 30th of each year.

Award Decision: May 15th. Notification by both mail and telephone.

Scholarship: $1,000.00 to be paid to the account of the student at an accredited college or university by no later than September 30 of the following year. If the winning student does not attend a college by September 30 of the year following the award, MCOPS reserves the right to revoke the award and offer dual scholarships in the following year. The winning essay will be announced at the IUPA National Police Week Ball.

Publication: The winning essay may be published by MCOPS and the IUPA.

Address of Submission:

MCOPS Annual Scholarship Competition
672 Old Mill Road # 181
Millersville, MD 21108-1363
 

The 2007 Winner of the MCOPS College Scholarship is:
Bethany Bessick of Sykesville, MD
Read her essay HERE

The 2006 WInner of the MCOPS College Scholarship was:
Caitlin Marie Wilson of Eldersburg, MD
Read her essay HERE

The 2005 Winner of the MCOPS College Scholarship was:
Courtney E. LeCompte of Hurlock, MD
Courtney attended North Dorchester High School
Click HERE to read her essay.

The 2004 Winner of the MCOPS College Scholarship was:
Paul Bertulis of Ellicott City, MD
Paul attended Calvert Hall College High School
Paul will attend the University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Click HERE to read his essay.

The 2003 Winner of the the MCOPS College Scholarship was:
Sarah Van Fossen of Prince Frederick, MD
Sarah attended Calvert High School
Sarah will attend New York University

The 2002 Winner of the the MCOPS College Scholarship was:
Elizabeth Emrey of Rising Sun, Maryland
Elizabeth attended Rising Sun High School
Elizabeth will attend Mount Saint Mary's College in Maryland
Click HERE to read her essay

The 1999-2000 Winner of the MCOPS College Scholarship was:
Patrick Siemon of Baltimore, Maryland
Patrick attended Loch Raven High School
Patrick will attend Villa Julia College in Baltimore County
Patrick's Essay in Adobe Acrobat

The 1998-1999 Winner was:
Jessica Nicole Curley of Baltimore, Maryland
Jessica went to Northeast High School
Jessica is attending the Anne Arundel Community College-College Park
Jessica's Essay in Adobe Acrobat

Congratulations to the 1997-1998 MCOPS Annual Scholarship
Competition winner, Carli Renee Harris of Westminster, Maryland.
Carli will be attending the University of Maryland.


The following is Carli's winning essay:

I feel as though being substance free is a commitment that everyone needs tomake in order to lead a healthy physical and mental life. I have chosen to be substance free so that the goals that I have set for myself are obtainable
throughout my life. If I did not make this commitment, my goals and dreams can be shattered at any moment in time, no one knowing for sure when or where, not even myself. That is not a chance I want to take or am willing to take.

In seeing different types and levels of abuse around daily, I have and will
continue to try to influence those who may do any substance that can potentially endanger their life or other lives. One of the ways that I do this is participating in my school sports and by keeping myself physically fit and mentally fit. I realize by what many kids and parents have told me, that many younger people inschool not only in sports, look at me as a role model. This makes me very proud and honored, which is reason enough to stay committed. I cannot let anyone down, especially myself by doing meaningless and harmful drugs. If younger kids can see that I can succeed in my athletics and my school work while having clean fun and realize that they to can have fun without using drugs, then I feel very honored. I know that if I did drugs then I would not have had all the opportunities that I have received, it would not have been possible for me to earn a spot on the University of Maryland Field Hockey team. Being a member of the National Honor Society can also be used as a deterrent for younger students not to do drugs. If I can use that to my advantage then I will, because this is such a
big issue with me and I hope that others will follow in my footsteps and make the healthy decision that I have.

Violence can also be very stressful on both the body and mind and I do not
agree with violence at all. I feel that this is for those people who are insecure with themselves and simply need to be the "bigger" man at something. Violence gets you no where but in trouble, even getting into fights with others at schools gets you into trouble. If I was a person who fought a lot, there would be no way that I would be able to participate in sports and be so successful. If being a role model means that I am looked up to, not only for the good that I do, but the bad is also noticed, then I cannot let others think that violence is OK, because I do not believe that it is. I feel that from what I have observed throughout the world, that even violence without weapons can be dangerous and even deadly. Violence without weapons eventually leads to violence with weapons that leads to injury, jail, and possibly death. Why would anyone even want to think about violence?  Unfortunately this is an everyday thing and we must do something about it.

These are the reasons that I have worked so hard and so long to remain drug and violence free, and I will do whatever I am capable of, to help others make the decisions they need to make to survive in this world.

The 1996-1997 MCOPS Scholarship Competition winner was Kim Raginski her essay follows:

When I was younger I knew drugs to be "BAD!" Programs like D.A.R.E. helped to educate me about drug's side effects and consequences. I fully believed in "Just say NO!" I still do, but I am shocked at the number of young people who just laugh it off. In their world sayings like "let's get high," "smoking' bowls," "bongs...... weed," "pot," and "Mary Jane" dominate. As sad as it may be, I hear statements like these, concerning drugs daily in my school and community.

These people just do not seem to realize what they are doing to themselves. A neighbor of mine is a prime example. When I first met him I thought he was a good kid. He ran cross-country and track and would easily qualify for a college scholarship. Toward school, he had an attitude similar to most kids his age, but he maintained decent grades. Somewhere during all the chaos of life things began to change. He dropped both indoor and outdoor track and began talking about getting high and getting drunk. He began to brag about his "accomplishments." He told us stories of how he got high before going to church and of how he skipped out on a church youth group meeting to go get drunk, and how he and his cousin got drunk at his grandmother's house. The stories go on and on and include how he has snuck out of the house after his parents had gone to sleep. The one that really gets to me is the one about how he got drunk one night so he decided to go for a little drive in the neighboring town. That alone is bad enough but it gets worse with the details. The car he was driving has no tags, was running on empty and he does not have a driver's license, or even a learner" s permit. I tried to tell him how stupid that was but he just ignored me. Seeing him lose everything before it even starts is so sad for me. Others who are close to him
have noticed the changes in him too. One girl he had invited to go with him to a circus ended up lying to him about having to "help her grandmother move." Why would such a normally honest girl do this? She said that she was afraid that he would try to pressure her into drugs or offer some to her.

It is a relief knowing that there are young people who are not into drugs. I am drug free with no desire even to try it "just once." My sister is the same way along with a few of my friends.  Although we are both ready to "just say no" we are still considered to be among the minority in my school. My school seems full of "stoners and users" and those who occasionally use drugs and
yet ironically enough I'm told that there is not a drug problem at my school. I think that a closer look needs to be taken especially when I know of so many who have started so young.

Another one of my neighbors is one who has started young. She really is a very nice girl once you get to know her. All she has done you cannot help but think of how she has completely ruined her life. Her family moved to the "country" to get away from everything down in Prince George's County. One look at her and you would think she could easily pass for seventeen or eighteen, when she is really only fourteen years old. She lives in a family where the adults drink heavy and smoke even heavier. Once school started she soon made friends, just with the wrong crowds. It was not long before she was smoking and started to skip class regularly to go up to the park and
smoke. At the park she met more people, including those much older than her. These people were basically into everything. Time went on and she began to rebel at every corner. It did not take too long before we all heard news that she had run away with some of her newer friends. When she finally came back, I was shocked at the stories she told me. Most of the things she said happened are things that I would never even consider doing. She told of how they had to siphon gas from another car, how she was driving without a license, how she officially lost her virginity, how she watched as her friend sold her body for $20. I was appalled! Not to mention the fact that she got into doing other harder drugs than just cigarettes. I think that she even tried to run away another time after then but she was caught before she got too far. She continued to skip school. I could not help but think how her whole life has been ruined. During her little escapade she ended up at the police station and I am sure she has some kind of a police record.

What will she do when she is asked about her past for a job? Or even for a college application? Will her past come back to haunt her? What will she end up doing with her life? She has told me that she does not want to go to college. Will she just sit around and make absolutely nothing of her life? Or will she just do whatever she feels like doing whenever she feels like it?
Either way her life will never be the same and all because of some stupid mistakes she made when she was just fourteen years old.

I have known others who have had similar stories. This one guy told me how he had gotten into drugs when he was in eighth grade but had reformed after being caught by the police and let go with a warning. He stayed pretty clean for a while but then started smoking cigarettes again. When he went to college things only got worse. He claimed that he was in need of money so he started selling drugs for cash. It did not take long for him to try the goods he was selling. He told me that he tried and used everything except coke. He ended up one of the biggest drug dealers on campus. After a party one night where things must have gotten a little wild, he ended up with rape charges brought up against him. He was able to pay the girl off with money that he made selling fake crack. Something must have hit him because shortly afterwards he returned home on what he called an "academic absence." He has promised to stay clean but how long will that last? And what about his future? Will he ever be able to become a pilot in the Navy? What about all the friendships that he has ruined through drugs. I know that he is a totally different person and that the only thing he has gained from this is one really bad reputation.

Why so many young people see drugs as so great is beyond me. No one that I have talked to has had a good experience with them and yet for some reason every time I look around more and more people are getting involved with drugs. I really find that sad. There are so many other things to do besides "gettin' high." I have found that getting a natural high from life itself has to be ten times better than any you might get from drugs. Young people today need to realize that "drugs are BAD!" However, no one wants to listen to what their parents have to say on the subject. They want to find out on their own - the hard way. It would be better for our society if we did not have to rely on the stubbornness of youth. What can we do about it, though? We all
seem stuck between a rock and a hard place. Perhaps hearing from people who have been in their shoes would help. Today's youth may learn that there are some serious consequences to pay for their short-lived high, Others may lay the blame on the parents of these young people. "If only the parents were more involved in what their kids were doing... if they only..." It is so easy to say something than to actually do something. But what would happen if parents were more involved with their children's lives?  Would that solve all of our problems? It may be a start, but if a person really wants to rebel, you can bet money that is what they will do. The sentiment behind this a good one. Something needs to be done. We should not sit back and watch as our younger generations slowly destroy themselves through drugs.