2025-2026 Scholarship Recipients and Essays
Congratulations to the 56 most recent DSDI 2025-2026 Scholarship Recipients!
All awardees were sent an email on July 4th advising them of their award. If you applied for a Scholarship, please check your email as there are specific instructions to follow. If you are unable to locate the email, please contact the Chair at [email protected].
Each application includes an essay written in response to a writing prompt. Links to some of the winning essays will be added to this page soon.
This year’s writing prompt was:
The Declaration of Independence sought to provide rights to, and empower, the American colonists in response to the King of Great Britian’s tyranny. Most famously, we see this emphasized in the below quote from the preamble of the Declaration:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. – That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,”
The DSDI works to honor the bravery and sacrifices the Signers made to give America that opportunity.
As part of this organization, please write about:
1. Why honoring this part of American history is important to you.
2. Your duty as a descendant of a Signer to keep history alive and in the forefront.
3. How you use, or plan to use, these beliefs to empower your fellow citizens.
Scholarship recipients are listed by signer.
| Name | Signer |
| David Barrow | Arthur Middleton |
| Victoria Barrow | Arthur Middleton |
| Anna Hadley | Benjamin Harrison V |
| Garnett Edmunds | Benjamin Harrison V |
| Clara Miller | Carter Braxton |
| Sean Bowman | Francis Lewis |
| Isaiah Bainbridge | John Hart |
| Justin Bainbridge | John Hart |
| Emma Barrett | John Hart |
| Grace Barrett | John Hart |
| James Mogg | John Hart |
| Charles Wahlig | John Hart |
| Rory Wahlig | John Hart |
| Zahra Walker | John Hart |
| Caroline Beecher | John Morton |
| Charlotte Beecher | John Morton |
| Julian Byrnes | John Morton |
| Katherine Gleason | John Morton |
| Josh Morton | John Morton |
| Madison Stromberg | John Morton |
| Reilly Stromberg | John Morton |
| Andrew Ward | John Morton |
| Jackson Turner | John Penn |
| Allison Hubbard | John Witherspoon |
| Isabella Ramsay | John Witherspoon |
| Theresa Ramsay | John Witherspoon |
| Caroline Witherspoon | John Witherspoon |
| John Witherspoon | John Witherspoon |
| Seina Dowgiewicz | Josiah Bartlett |
| Anna Thomas | Oliver Wolcott |
| Caitlin Thomas | Oliver Wolcott |
| Ryane Farrell | Philip Livingston |
| Margaret Long | Philip Livingston |
| Kannon Zdimal | Philip Livingston |
| Kooper Zdimal | Philip Livingston |
| Elise Gresham | Richard Henry Lee and Robert Morris |
| Luke Gresham | Richard Henry Lee and Robert Morris |
| Brady Glynn | Richard Stockton |
| Pauline Singer | Richard Stockton |
| Griffin Yandell | Richard Stockton |
| Lucy Paynter | Robert Treat Paine |
| Malia Pollock | Robert Treat Paine |
| Oliver McDermott | Roger Sherman |
| Caroline Lowery | Thomas Heyward Jr. |
| Alexander McLaurine | Thomas Heyward Jr. |
| Tonirose Heyward | Thomas Heyward Jr. |
| Claire Casey | Thomas Heyward Jr. |
| Benjamin McKenna | Thomas Mckean |
| Dallin Burke | Thomas Nelson Jr. |
| Ethan Burke | Thomas Nelson Jr. |
| Margaret Davis | Thomas Nelson Jr. |
| Brooke Nelson | Thomas Nelson Jr. |
| Stephanie Nelson | Thomas Nelson Jr. |
| Casey Smith | Thomas Nelson Jr. |
| Fielding Croft | William Hooper |
| Cabell Pasco | William Hooper |
Would you like to apply for a scholarship? Visit the following places to learn more and contact us if you still have questions: