American Taekwondo Association Scholarships
Responsible for operating and overseeing taekwondo classes, schools and programs across the United States, the American Taekwondo Association has over 350,000 members worldwide and is the largest martial arts organization in the United States. Programs offered by the ATA include the Tiny Tigers Program for 2 to 6-year-olds, Karate for Kids for ages 7 to 13 and the Black Belt Academy for adults. To honor students of ATA and offer tuition help for college, the H.U. Lee Foundation of the ATA sponsors the H.U. Lee Memorial Scholarship.
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History
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The H.U. Lee Foundation was created in 1992 to honor the leader and founder of the American Taekwondo Association, Eternal Grand Master H.U. Lee, according to the American Taekwondo Association. In 1996, 10 high school students received the first H.U. Lee Memorial Scholarships. The scholarship started at the national level and in 2002 a regional scholarship program was also added. Currently, the national scholarships are broken down into eight named scholarships to honor other Grand Master, Chief Master and Senior Master members of ATA.
Features
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Recipients of the national H.U. Lee Memorial Scholarships receive $3,000 to $8,000 per semester depending on the scholarship won and the amount of funding available each year. The number of recipients for the national awards vary each year from between eight and ten students. Regional Scholarships award one-time awards of $500 to over 100 students a year. The American Taekwondo Association raises money for the H.U. Lee Memorial Scholarships through fundraising events throughout the year like the Founder's Gala, merchandise sales and tournaments.
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Eligibility
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To qualify for a national H.U. Lee Memorial Scholarship, a student must be a graduating senior with a 3.0 grade point average or better and accepted to an accredited college or university. Students must also have a minimum ACT score of 27 or a minimum combined SAT score of 1100, be a member of the ATA and demonstrate skills of taekwondo, like discipline and perseverance. For the regional scholarships, students must have a 2.0 GPA, have completed the ACT or SAT and demonstrate skills of taekwondo. Students may apply for a regional scholarship as a high school senior and each year they are in college.
Process
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Students interested in applying for the H.U. Lee Memorial Scholarships can find an application online at the H.U. Lee Foundation website. Applications must be submitted by February of each year with winners notified in May and officially announced at the World Championships in June. Along with an application, students should submit a head shot, official high school transcript, signature from their taekwondo instructor, two letters of recommendation and a 500-word essay describing how the student overcame obstacles using perseverance.
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References
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