NPG Awards $50,000 in Scholarships for the 2026-2027 Academic Year

Twenty-one Students Will Receive Awards for Essays Related to Overpopulation

ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Negative Population Growth has announced this year's annual Essay Scholarship Contest winners. Twenty-one students from across the U.S. will receive awards ranging from $5,000 to $2,000 to help offset their tuition costs.

This year, high school seniors and undergraduate students competed by submitting an original 450- to 500-word essay. Students were asked to identify three aspects of American life negatively affected by population growth and explain why those challenges would be easier to manage with fewer people.

Graduate students responded to the same prompt but were also asked to identify what they believe is the ideal population size for the United States and explain their reasoning. Graduate essays ranged from 500 to 750 words.

NPG's highest honor in each division is reserved for one outstanding student whose submission best addressed this year's essay prompt.

The Edwin S. Rubenstein NPG Memorial Scholarship, NPG's top award for high school seniors and undergraduate students, has been awarded to Anthony DesRois from Regis College. Anthony will receive the top prize of $3,500 for his entry to NPG's High School Seniors & Undergraduate Students Essay Contest.

The Donald W. Mann Memorial Scholarship for Population Studies, NPG's top graduate award, has been awarded to Breanna Wixted, a graduate student from the University of Colorado. She will receive the grand prize of $5,000 for her entry to NPG's Graduate Student Essay Contest. 

Additional undergraduate scholarship recipients include Ava Moczarski from Florida State University and Ruby Spurlock from Texas A&M University, who each received $2,500 scholarships. Eight additional students each received $2,000 scholarships: Alana Borgers from the University of Montevallo, Ronald Cabrera from Northwestern University, Amber-Lee Gibbs from Georgia Southern University, Lee Kerk from The University of Texas at Arlington, Hridoy Kundu from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Traven Lawson from South College, Dylan Nolly from Amherst College, and Julia Pieri from Florida State University.

Additional graduate scholarship recipients include Jenef Allotey from Emory University, who received a $3,500 scholarship, and Dmitriya Minkin from Boston College, who received a $3,000 scholarship. Seven additional graduate students each received $2,000 scholarships: Daniels Eloka from Georgia State University, Yamil Alquizar from Florida International University, Emir Gokce from Oregon State University, Jaylon Muchison from The Juilliard School, Harry Panajoti from the University of Hartford, Joshua Thaisananikone from the University of Wisconsin, and Paige Vaughn from The University of Texas at Austin.

This year's awards are just a portion of the hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships NPG has awarded to students since 2006 through its Youth Outreach Program. Through this multifaceted initiative, NPG encourages young Americans to think critically about the long-term consequences of continued population growth and the need for workable, responsible, common-sense solutions to today's population challenges.

In addition to sponsoring its annual scholarship competition, NPG has worked 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