NPG Awards $50,000 in Scholarships for the 2025-2026 Academic Year

Twenty-two Students Will Receive Awards for Advertisements Related to Overpopulation

ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Negative Population Growth leaders have announced this year's annual Written Advertisement Scholarship Contest winners. Soon, twenty-two students from across the U.S. will receive awards ranging from $5,000 to $2,000 to help with their tuition and other expenses.

This year, high school seniors and undergraduate students competed for the scholarship awards by writing an original 100-200 word advertisement appropriate for a magazine or newspaper. They were asked to submit text designed to persuade the public to support programs that are designed to slow, halt, and eventually reverse U.S. population growth. The key issue to be addressed in their written advertisement was U.S. population size and growth. They could also address the negative consequences of U.S. overpopulation, such as environmental damage, natural resource depletion, deterioration of infrastructure, and economic strain.

Graduate students were given the same prompt and also asked to research and suggest two publications where they believe their advertisement could be placed. Along with the publications' names, graduate students included one to three sentences explaining why they felt the advertisement copy is appropriate for that magazine/newspaper.

One First prize winner was selected in each contest. The Donald W. Mann Memorial Scholarship for Population Studies, named in honor of NPG's late founder and president, has been awarded to Duc Thinh Nguyen, a graduate student from Cornell University. He will receive the grand prize of $5,000 for his entry to NPG's Graduate Student Written Advertisement Scholarship Contest. 

Edwin S. Rubenstein, NPG's Director of Research, passed away on July 5, 2025, while the final decisions on NPG's Written Advertisement Contest were being made. In memory of Edwin and his lasting contributions to NPG's mission and legacy, NPG will award the grand prize of the 2025 Undergraduate Written Advertisement Contest in his name. The first winner of The Edwin S. Rubenstein Memorial Scholarship has been awarded to Samay Shah from University of Michigan – Ann Arbor. Samay will receive the top prize of $3,500 for his entry to NPG's High School Seniors & Undergraduate Students Written Advertisement Scholarship Contest.

Additional graduate winners include Christina Maria Louka from Columbia Business School, who won $3,000. And eight $2,000 scholarships were awarded separately to: Trisha Badjatia from Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine, LynnLee Bolin from Columbus State University, Kenneth Caraballo from George Washington University, Ian Kleinfeld from Wake Forest University School of Professional Services, Tyler Kleinsasser from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Aleisha Murdock from The University of Baltimore, Solmi Park from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Marcus Pugh from Walden University.

Additional undergraduate winners include Parshv Manishkumar Patel from the University of California, Berkeley, who won $2,500. And ten $2,000 scholarships were awarded separately to McKenzie Hively from Northeast Texas Community College, Noah Johansson from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Taylor Maerlender from Georgia Institute of Technology, Liana Montes from Palm Beach State College, Bibi Shahdokht Sahak from Renton Technical College, Addison Claire Secor from the University of South Carolina, Justin Tam from New York University, Ari Warren from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Katlynn Williams from Florida Southern College and Lauren Wilmoth from the University of Virginia.

This year's prizes are just a portion of the hundreds of thousands of dollars of scholarship money that NPG has awarded students since 2006, as part of its Youth Outreach program. This multi-faceted program is designed to get America's young people focused on the disastrous future that awaits their generation if our nation's leaders fail to recognize and act to put forth workable, responsible, common-sense solutions to today's ever-growing population crisis.

Along with sponsoring the annual student scholarship competition, NPG has worked through the years with thousands of teachers nationwide who help bring facts about population to America's classrooms. These efforts are funded through the generous support of NPG members who are especially interested in leaving a livable world for their children and grandchildren.

Since 1972, NPG has worked to educate both the public and policy leaders about the impacts of overpopulation. With a steadfast commitment to reducing population growth to achieve a sustainable balance with our environmental resources, NPG continues to be a leading voice of reason in a world often driven by the pursuit of perpetual growth. NPG advocates for the adoption of its Proposed National Population Policy, with the goal of eventually stabilizing U.S. population at a sustainable level – far lower than today's. We do not simply identify the problems – we propose solutions. For more information, visit our website at NPG.org, follow us on Facebook @NegativePopulationGrowth or follow us on X @npg_org.

SOURCE Negative Population Growth Inc