The 10th Annual

William A. Solemene Foundation

Scholarship Essay Contest

William A. Solemene was a long time Dallas advertising executive.  He was generous in his philanthropy and active in civic service and party politics.  In sponsoring this scholarship, the William A. Solemene Charitable Foundation wishes to honor the spirit of active citizenship and love of country that was such an important part of his life.  Through the generosity of the Foundation, the University of Dallas has been able to award over the past eight years $250,000 in scholarships apportioned to multiple students. 

Once again, the Solemene Charitable Foundation has contributed $25,000 to be apportioned among the authors of the top two or three essays. Submission requirements and the topic and prompt for the essay are listed below.

Deadline:

Deadline for submission is April 10, 2026 at 11:59 pm CDT. Scholarships will be awarded for the 2026-27 school year.

Qualifications:

1. Applicant must be a current University of Dallas undergraduate with at least 15 credit hours already earned (completed at UD) but not more than 110 credit hours earned at UD at the time of application.
2. Applicant must be a Liberal Arts Major, pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in any major.
3. Applicant must have submitted a 2026/2027 FAFSA. Financial need is a consideration.
4. Applicant must be a US citizen or permanent resident.

Requirements: 

1. 800-1,500 word essay - see topic below.  Line spacing for the essay should be at 1 1/2 lines.  Do not include personal identification in the essay; only include your UD student ID number at the top of your essay.  Your essay must be uploaded within the application.
   
2. One letter of recommendation from a University of Dallas professor.  This letter may be uploaded with your application or emailed (either by the applicant or directly from the professor) to finaid@udallas.edu.  If the letter is emailed, the subject line of the email must be: Solemene Scholarship, ID (insert the applicant's UD ID number).

Topic of the William A. Solemene Foundation Scholarship Essay

Expressive Individualism: An Essay

Essay Prompt:

Expressive individualism (EI), writes Dean of Students Gregory Roper in A Life Well-Lived, is the philosophy of the present day (pp. 30-32). He cites O. Carter Snead’s 2020 book, What It Means to be Human, an excerpt of which is available here and is quoted below:
https://churchlifejournal.nd.edu/articles/the-anthropology-of-expressive-individualism/

“Expressive individualism, in its purest form, takes the individual, atomized self to be the fundamental unit of human reality. This self is not defined by its attachments or network of relations, but rather by its capacity to choose a future pathway that is revealed by the investigation of its own inner depths of sentiment.”

Drawing on the texts and disciplines that constitute the University of Dallas core curriculum, and drawing also from your own personal experience, discuss the phenomenon of EI. 

• In your own words, what is EI? 
• Which behaviors, dispositions, and attitudes does EI help explain?
• What are the problems or limits of EI?
• What is the most important alternative to EI? 
• Do major texts of the UD core curriculum foster EI or its opposite? How so? Give specific examples.

Please note that generative AI may not be used in the writing or rewriting of your essay; finalists may be called upon to defend their essays in person with the faculty member who evaluates them.

Once you have your essay and letter of recommendation from a UD professor ready, submit your application.