Comics Are LIT! Scholarship: How a Fastweb Member Turned a Sketch Into a $5K Win

A few months ago, Fastweb shared the Comics are LIT! Scholarship Contest, an award opportunity from Showtime’s The Chi actress, Hannaha Hall. The scholarship asked applicants to read the book, The Man Who Died Seven Times, by Yasuhiko Nishizawa, and create a 10-page comic book spin-off based on one of three select characters. The winner has officially been announced! Chelsea B., a student at Utah State University, created a fantastic work of art that earned her plenty of praise and a $5,000 scholarship. Here’s her advice to other scholarship searchers, particularly Fastweb members.

Comics are LIT!: Winning Scholarship Advice

We got the chance to ask Chelsea about the process of finding, applying, and winning the Comics are LIT! Scholarship Contest. Here’s what she did, and by replicating it, you may find yourself in the winner’s seat as well. 1. How did you hear about the Comics are Lit! Scholarship Contest? I found out about the Comics are Lit! Scholarship Contest because I matched with it on Fastweb. 2. What led you to gravitate toward this scholarship? Most of the other scholarships I was matched with and applying for required an essay, so this scholarship really stood out to me. I have always enjoyed reading, art, and creative writing, so I was excited to use those skills to apply for a scholarship. While I don’t mind essays, this scholarship was a welcome change of pace. 3. How long did it take you to create your application? I probably spent about 100 hours working on it from start to finish. I started the project in a composition notebook, taking notes as I read and revisited the book, brainstorming plot and storyboarding, and taping sketches together from the corners of homework pages. The final product was ink and watercolor on watercolor paper. 4. What was the easiest part about applying? What was the most challenging? The easiest part of applying was actually creating a 500-word statement about my comic. After spending so long working on it, I felt like I could go on and on about what this experience was like for me. The most challenging was in the final week, where scrapping some of my finished pages in favor of a better plot left me completing 5 pages in that week alone. 5. Have you applied for scholarships before this? If so, how many? I applied to about 35 scholarships before this one. 6. Were you surprised to learn you had won? I was definitely surprised to learn that I had won. I knew all of the shortcomings of my comic and wasn’t feeling confident that I would win it, but I did hope that the time and effort that I put in would pay off. 7. What do you plan to spend your scholarship dollars on? I am planning to spend my scholarship money on housing while I'm at school. 8. Where do you plan/attend school? I am planning to attend school this fall at Utah State University. 9. What is your intended major and/or hopeful career path? I’m going to be working toward a business degree, but I don’t know exactly what type of business just yet. 10. What advice do you have for other scholarship seekers? Apply for scholarships that you enjoy. Pick a few to apply to that you can give your full effort to instead of giving a partial effort to a greater number of scholarships. This also keeps you from procrastinating working on a scholarship by working on another scholarship. Is there a scholarship out there with your name on it? Find out by creating a free profile on Fastweb. We’ll match you to scholarships you actually qualify for, helping you get closer to a scholarship win and successfully paying for your higher education.