What is the California Hall of Fame Dreamers Challenge?

The California Museum’s California Hall of Fame Dreamers Challenge, created in 2008, asks high school seniors to describe how their dreams will change the world. Their inspiration and goals can be as diverse as the Golden State, and illustrated in a medium that reflects how their dream will be completed through art, prose, music, digital presentations, poetry or whatever medium suits the student’s strengths — the possibilities are endless, the options are diverse and the sky’s the limit like the California Dream.

The Dreamers Challenge was created in partnership with Comcast. As a part of The California Museum’s California Hall of Fame program, the scholarship is sponsored by California Travel & Tourism and Comcast.

What is the California Hall of Fame?

Conceived by First Lady Maria Shriver, The California Museum’s California Hall of Fame was established in 2006 to honor legendary people who embody California’s innovative spirit and have made their mark on history. The California Hall of Fame is a landmark destination featured in the Museum, which serves to inspire visitors by exhibiting the diverse, creative and extraordinary stories of trailblazers, leaders and legends who have called California home.

The California Hall of Fame celebrates inductees by:

• Installing the inductees into the California Hall of Fame institution in a formal state ceremony in Sacramento each year, at which inductees (or their families, if a posthumous award) receive the Spirit of California medal;
• Making inductees and their accomplishments part of the permanent record in the California State Archives;
• Recording the unique stories and personal achievements of inductees in an exhibit at The California Museum, serving as the visual, encyclopedic record of the California Hall of Fame, to which new inductees are added each year; and
• Highlighting the inspirational achievements of inductees through a year-round education campaign.

What is the scholarship prize?

• Two (2) Grand Prize winners will be selected, one (1) from Northern California and one (1) from Southern California funded by Comcast
• $5,000 academic scholarship for each Grand Prize winner
• Airfare and accommodations for student and one (1) adult to Sacramento to accept award
• Recognition at The California Museum’s California Hall on Thursday, December 8, 2011
• Attendance of 2011 California Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony & VIP placement during 2010 California Hall of Fame Red Carpet Event live broadcast on Comcast Hometown Network digital cable channel 104 on Thursday, December 8th from 6:00-8:00p.m.
• Grand Prize Winner entries posted on The California Museum’s website
• Twenty (20) Honorable Mention entries will be selected, ten (10) from Northern California and ten (10) from Southern California

Who are the past winners?

The 2008 grand prize went to Elena Muruato, of Los Angeles. Her winning essay about providing services to children who lost parents in the wars overseas allowed her to walk away with a $10,000 prize. The original scholarship prize had been for $5,000, but at the last minute, Comcast doubled it.

In 2009, Southern California winner Paul Tran wrote about how he started the organization The Common Thread dedicated to ending discrimination and helping youth realize their full potential and achieve their dreams. Northern California winner Radhika Mitra told her story about starting an organization called Renaissance Now to help underprivileged artists and artisans all over the world.

The 2010 Northern California Grand Prize winner was Sarah Nicole Williams of Pleasanton from Amador Valley High School, who was inspired after reading Hope’s Boy to fulfill her mission to provide a blanket to every child in the California foster care system in her essay, A Blanket of Their Own. The Southern California Grand Prize winner was Thomas Anderson Keller of El Cajon from Granite Hills High School, who wrote an essay detailing the need to inspire his fellow students a program he created to inspire younger students to get excited about math and science in his essay, Where Have All the Students Gone?

What are the general guidelines?

• • Limit one (1) entry per person:
  • Challenge is open to 12th grade students graduating summer 2012from a California high school: public, private, or home school. Please note: entrants will be seniors in the fall of 2011.
  • Entrant must be a California resident.
  • Winning entrant must be able to receive the grand prize award in person at California Hall of Fame event.
• All submissions must be include both a letter-sized printed copy and a digital file on a CD or DVD.
• All entries must be mailed or delivered to The California Museum no later than October 15, 2011.

Who judges Dreamers Challenge entries?

• Representative from The California Museum’s Teacher Advisory Group
• Representative from Comcast

What is the timeline?

• August 15, 2011: Dreamers Challenge begins and entry forms made available online
• October 15, 2011: Submission deadline, all entries must be postmarked on or before this date.
• October 17, 2011: Judging begins
• November 14, 2011: Winners notified
• November 21, 2011: Winners and honorable mentions announced
• December 8, 2011: Grand prize winners are recognized at The California Museum’s California Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and red carpet walk, as broadcast live on Comcast Hometown Network. (Check local listings to for times and channels.)