The contest was open to all Nevada kindergarten through fifth-grade students, with the prize being a $529 gift to be used to open a college savings plan account or to enhance an existing account through Upromise, Nevada's College Savings Plans program administrator.
The contest was co-sponsored by the State Treasurer's Office and Newmont Mining Corporation, which provided the prize money.
Five winners were selected via random drawing: two from Clark County, one from Washoe County and one each from a northern and southern Nevada rural community.
In addition to Brooks, this year's recipients included:
• Clark County, Grace Wideen, first grade, Charles and Phyllis Frias Elementary.
• Clark County, Gabriel Lesic, kindergarten, Frank Kim Elementary.
• Washoe County, Amaya Glovan, kindergarten, Coral Academy of Science (Reno).
• Southern Nevada Rural, Cheyenne Kirk, first grade, Andrew Mitchell Elementary. (Boulder City)
"Each year this contest receives around 1,000 entries from across our state, to which we owe a great deal of gratitude to the many school administrators and teachers who encourage their students to enter the contest," said Treasurer Kate Marshall. "Our sincere appreciation as well to Newmont Mining Corporation for stepping forward as the sponsor of this great program, which helps teach students and parents about the Nevada College Savings Plans program and the ability to begin planning for future college education needs."
The theme of the contest is "I want to go to college so I can become a___________." Those who entered the contest had the choice of completing the sentence and either submitting a drawing of the career choice in the box included on the official entry form or to submit an essay of no more than 50 words about the student's career ambition. The five winners were selected via a random drawing of all submissions.
Marshall said the Nevada College Savings Plans program has a variety of college savings options and payment plans, including several programs aimed specifically at assisting Nevada families with the task of savings for college:
Silver State Matching Grant program
The Silver State Matching Grant program provides lower-to-middle income Nevada families an enhanced opportunity to save for their children's college education.
The Silver State Matching Grant allows qualifying Nevada families, who are Upromise College Fund 529 Plan account owners, to be considered for a matching grant of up to $300 of extra college savings per calendar year with a lifetime maximum grant of $1,500. The program is accepting applications through June 30.
Ugift program
The Ugift program, which provides family members and friends an opportunity to contribute to a child's college savings plan, has surpassed the $5 million mark in contributions. Ugift is an online resource connected with the Upromise College Fund 529 Plans and USAA College Savings Plan.
Ugift provides a convenient and easy way for account owners to suggest to family and friends that they celebrate a child's milestones with the gift of college savings, in lieu of traditional gifts. With graduation ceremonies taking place across the state, it is a great time to alert family and friends about the program.
All Ugift contributions are uniquely earmarked and invested into the beneficiary's 529 college savings plan account to ultimately be used for college and college-related expenses.
For more information about the Nevada's College Savings Plans program, including the Nevada Prepaid Tuition Program, go to https://NevadaTreasurer.gov.
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