CASL STEM Scholarship
Support your STEM education with our $5,000 STEM Scholarship and access to mentorship opportunities.
Fund your future career in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
The CASL STEM Scholarship will provide up to $5,000 per year toward the cost of attending a college or university for students enrolled in STEM majors. Recipients must remain enrolled in an eligible program and maintain a minimum 2.75 GPA to receive award payments. Cost of attendance includes tuition, fees, room, board, books and transportation, and may include personal costs.
In addition to financial support, scholarship recipients will receive access to mentorship opportunities through our partnership with TERN mentoring.
Eligibility Requirements
To apply a student must:
- Be a high school senior graduating from a Chicago Public or Charter school with a weighted high school GPA of 3.5 out of 4.0
- Plan to enroll, or be currently enrolled, full-time in a four-year degree program at a U.S. accredited, not-for- profit, private or public college/university
- Elect a STEM major
- Be a U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident
- Demonstrate financial need (annual household income no more than $75,000)
- While participation in CASL programs is considered, it is not a requirement to receive the STEM scholarship
Application Requirements
- Submit completed application, personal essay, and two letters of recommendation by the scholarship deadline of April 1, 2026. Finalists will be required to submit an additional video essay, and then award decisions will be made in early May.
- Candidates must write a personal essay (300 word minimum) on one of the topics listed below
- Discuss some issue of personal, local, national or international concern and its importance to you.
- Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you. Describe that person and describe that influence.
- Describe the environment that you grew up in and how it helped shape you into the kind of person you are today.
- Describe a character in fiction, a historical figure, or creative work (music, politics, science, etc.) that has had an influence on you and explain that influence.
- Provide information that you feel will give a more complete and accurate picture of yourself (i.e. background, personal philosophy, traits, goals, etc.) Describe the influence of these factors.
- Two letters of recommendation from individuals who can attest to the candidate’s achievement and potential in terms of:
- Leadership, character, and service
- Academic excellence
Scholarship Recipient Responsibilities
- Attendance and recognition at CASL’s Culture Voices event in May 2026
- Be featured on the CASL website and other CASL communications.
- Participate in speaking engagement on the topic of their college experience with CASL youth program.
- Provide documentation showing enrollment in college/university with STEM major and proof of GPA.
STEM Scholar Spotlight
Meet Kelly Lin, a Whitney Young High School graduate who is now studying computer science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Scholarship Recipient Responsibilities
The CASL STEM Scholarship was initiated by Ann and Tony Yeung thanks to their shared passion for education and STEM subjects. Ann and Tony discovered their enthusiasm for STEM at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Following graduation, both went on to successful careers in STEM-related fields.
As native southside Chicagoans from the Chinatown/Bridgeport neighborhood, the Yeungs wanted to give back to the community they came from. They hope this scholarship will help new generations of students in achieving their educational pursuits studying STEM.