GenTX Week Rolls Out With A Call For High School Students Statewide To 'Take The Challenge!' For Chance To Win $1,500 College Scholarship

Generation Texas Movement Expands with a Weeklong Celebration and its First-Ever Online Video Contest Promoting High School Rigor and College and Career-Readiness

AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 6 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Generation TX (pronounced "Generation Texas") movement to promote a college and career-ready culture in communities statewide has declared November 18-22 to be GenTX Week. To celebrate GenTX Week, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), creators of the Generation Texas movement, invites all high school students to participate in the first-ever GenTX video contest dubbed Take the Challenge!

Students are being asked to create an original 2-3 minute Take the Challenge! video that creatively reflects how they're challenging themselves to follow a successful path to college and career. Students are asked to show in the video how they're taking steps for one (or all) of these things:

1. Enrolling in a rigorous academic plan in school
2. Involving parents and family as they prepare for college and career
3. Preparing right now to fill out the best college application through ApplyTexas.org and to pay for college (high school seniors only)

A key goal of the Take the Challenge! video contest is to underscore the message with high school students that making the decision to take rigorous academic courses, including those associated with a distinguished graduation plan, is one of the strongest ways to prepare for success at a community or technical college or four-year university.

Generation TX will award a $1,500 college scholarship/prize* to the student producer of the winning Take the Challenge! video. The top five video finalists will be featured on www.GenTX.org/TakeTheChallenge for public voting. Additionally, the high school campus that completes the most ApplyTexas.org college applications during GenTX Week will be recognized with the GenTX Week Star Award and receive $1,000 of GenTX swag. Also, as part of the Take the Challenge! video contest, a Top 10 Most Inspirational Teachers Award will be given based on student contestants' nominations made through the video submission process.

The deadline for online video submissions is 12 a.m. midnight (CST) on Friday, November 22 (the last day of Generation TX Week). Other deadlines also apply. Some restrictions apply. See www.GenTX.org/TakeTheChallenge for detailed contest rules and eligibility.

"The pathway to success in college begins with a strong academic foundation in high school," said Texas Higher Education Commissioner Raymund Paredes. "During GenTX Week, it is incumbent on all of us to inspire high school students around the state to take the challenge to be college and career ready."

Generation TX encourages teachers, computer labs, coaches, counselors, principals, ISD officials, newsletter editors, social clubs, bloggers, PTAs, parent organizations at vocational schools, charter schools, and high schools to challenge all of their students to produce and submit a short scholarship pitch video for a chance to win by Friday, November 22.

About Generation TX
Generation TX is a statewide initiative supported by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board focused on creating a college-going culture across the state.  Through GenTX Week and other seasonal promotions, Generation TX is clarifying the path to college for Texas students and families by providing information on college and career readiness, college application and financial aid in a fresh and engaging manner.  For more information, please visit www.GenTX.org.

*Seniors are eligible for $1,500 college scholarship. 9th-11th graders are eligible for a $1,500 prize.

MEDIA NOTE

Photo Assets

To obtain a Take the Challenge! GenTX Week logo:  http://gentx.org/takethechallenge/downloads/

Video Assets

www.GenTX.org/TakeTheChallenge

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SOURCE Generation TX