ESA’s 2023 Youth Scholarship Program launches

DALLAS—The Electronic Security Association (ESA) announced that is now accepting entries to its 2023 ESA Youth Scholarship Program.

The electronic security industry works intimately with the public safety sector. Police, firefighters, paramedics and EMTs offer a vital service to our communities, in our shared goal of keeping people, places and property safe.  

To give back to this group that so positively impacts the communities around us, ESA developed the ESA Youth Scholarship Program — a philanthropic endeavor that aims to support the futures of children of first responders.   

To date, more than $828,500 has been awarded to deserving high school seniors who hold a commitment to excellence and are inspired by the work their first responder parent(s) do in the line of duty each day.  

Currently, the scholarship finalists from participating states will compete for an overall ESA National Scholarship award of $12,000 for first place and $40,00 for second place. This presents a great opportunity to visit with your local police or fire chief.  

“This scholarship will be an enormous benefit to relieving part of the financial burden attributed to my postsecondary education,” said Luke Rainey, second-place winner of the 2022 ESA Youth Scholarship. “Through this scholarship, I will be able to exit college with far less debt and experience an easier transition into a fully independent adult life.”

Online donations, which will enhance these awards, are now available to the electronic security and life safety channel supporters who are interested in contributing. All donations will go directly into the scholarship awards for high school seniors across the country. Supporters will be recognized on the ESA site.   

This year, 14 state associations across the nation will join forces with ESA in a programmatic effort to support the families of first responders. Winners will be selected from each state and will then compete at the national level for ESA’s first and second place awards. 

The ESA’s Youth Scholarship Program’s volunteer committee members are:

Kelly Bond, Davis Mergers and Acquisitions Group 

Jason Etter, AVX Integrated Technologies 

Lilianne Chaumont, Chaumont Law Inc. 

Karen Smith, Cultris Security Systems, Inc. 

Mike Perdue, Fire and Data Systems, Inc. 

Applications can be found at: ESAweb.org/scholarship. Donations can be made at: ESAweb.org/scholarship-donate.