Two separate initiatives from Go Daddy and Nominet aim to help teenagers and students. Go Daddy is offering 10 students $10,000 each in the Go Daddy .ME Scholarship program and Nominet launched a campaign against trolling and online bullying.
Nominet’s internet advice site, knowthenet.org.uk has launched a campaign highlighting the impact of trolling and online bullying.
At Go Daddy eligible U.S. students can submit applications at GoDaddyScholarship.me. Each year, thousands of students apply, but only 10 are selected to win a $10,000 scholarship. Applicants need to submit a 500-word essay describing how the Internet or Internet technology has helped them and how they envision benefiting from it in the future. Essays are judged on quality, creativity and originality.
“This year’s applicants are off-the-charts, wicked smart,” said Go Daddy CEO Blake Irving. “We’re seeing compelling stories from conventional technology students, entrepreneurs and aspiring business owners … all looking for a little help with their college tuition. If you’re a college student who is passionate about technology, let’s hear your story. In our eyes, you are our future employees, customers and industry leaders.”
Go Daddy and the .ME Registry created the national scholarship program in 2010 as a way to support students who are aspiring entrepreneurs and technologists.
Matthew Iozzio received $10,000 from last year’s Go Daddy .ME Scholarship. Iozzio is the co-founder of ScholarsForCharity.org,, a non-profit website development group, which insists on charitable donations in lieu of payment. “The Go Daddy dot-ME Scholarship gave me some peace of mind and helped me focus on my education,” said Iozzio. “I recommend students take advantage of this opportunity – it might just pay-off.”
The Go Daddy .ME Scholarship is just one way Go Daddy is enabling future technologists. This week, Go Daddy kicked-off Engineering Week at UC Berkeley with a keynote speech by Irving. Students met with Go Daddy leaders during events and competitions. They also learned about future employment opportunities. Earlier this year, Go Daddy participated in the inaugural “University Hacker Olympics” in San Francisco. College students were selected to meet and compete in a weekend-long hackathon to code with some of the best developers in the world. Go Daddy technologists worked alongside and connected with students who are some of the brightest technical talent that will soon enter the professional market.
Interacting with tech-savvy students is a priority for Go Daddy as it establishes initiatives like the Go Daddy .ME Scholarship. To apply, applicants must be pursuing an undergraduate degree in fall 2013, have a minimum 3.0 GPA and have scored higher than 1,000 on the SAT or 21+ on the ACT.
The application deadline for the Go Daddy .ME Scholarship is March 30, 2013. Go Daddy’s scholarship recipients are scheduled to be announced at the end of April.