May 25, 2007
2007 Sundance Vacations Scholarship Essay Contest
It’s that time of year again. As many of you know, Sundance Vacations annually sponsors a Scholarship Essay Contest for employees who are students or for employees whose children are students. John and Tina Dowd created the scholarship to recognize and reward the dedication of these students and to support their scholastic endeavors. We receive more entries every year and winning the contest is a big accomplishment. For the 2007 Scholarship Essay Contest, we are introducing an exciting change to the manner in which the essays are submitted; all participants will enter their essay as a comment to this post.
A $500.00 scholarship will be awarded for each category:
Essays from Ages 8 to 13: $500.00 Scholarship
Essays from Ages 14 through College: $500.00 Scholarship
Scholarship Essay Contest Rules:
You are a travel agent writing about a vacation spot you just visited for the well-known magazine, Sundance Vacations. We want to know about your vacation from the viewpoint of your age group. What’s hot and what’s not? Let us know and let us know, why!
-
Entries are submitted as a comment at the end of this post (click the comments and follow the instructions)
-
Entries must be at least 600 words
-
Entries must be received by Monday, June 25, 2007
-
Entries must include the student’s age, name and state of residence
-
One $500.00 Scholarship will be awarded per age category
-
Only employees or children of employees are eligible to enter, sorry, no grandchildren
-
Winners will be announced at the company picnic
Hint: Save a copy of your essay BEFORE clicking the submit button.
If you have questions or need assistance, please contact me by phone at 1.800.220.9400 ext. 130 or, via e-mail at komara@vacmail.com
This is a great opportunity; make sure you have those essays in by the 6/25/07 deadline!!
I think this is such a great idea. This is another perk of working for Sundance Vacations. Not only do they do so much for their employees but they also get their families involved. Good Luck to everyone. I can’t wait to find out who the winner is!!!!
Angela Kinney-Admin
Good luck to all of you who are entering. I can’t wait to hear the winners announced at the company picnic. This is such a great opportunity so start writing……………
I think it is awesome that Sundance Vacations supports the education of its workers and their families. Good luck to everybody who is applying.
I wish good luck to everyone who submits an essay. My son is 16 yrs old and
I am going to have him enter. I think this is a good idea. It gets the
family involved with our company.
Margee Kuhl
Accounting Dept
Just another perk of working at Sundance Vacations. I engourage all children on employees to get involved this is such a great oppurtunity.
I love essays and all, but I’m not eligible, I think, but it’s ok, perhaps they will make an essay contest for the regular employees like me…who knows with the dowds!!!
an essay is like an all inspiring moment from deep within your life,you shed a few tears for the sad moments and shed more tears for the happiest ones imaginable…
you scream when you accomplish something others will see and keep close to their hearts!!!
good luck everyone!!!
Chris—–Shamokin office!!!
This is another reason it is great to work at Sundance Vacations. My daughter is not old enough to write an essay but when she is, I am sure I will have her enter.
Good luck to everyone who enters the contest! Every little bit helps when it comes to paying for school!
In College?… Want to Travel?… Here’s The Vacation For You!
By: Danielle Smyre
Age: 20
Residence:PA
Attend: Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Traveling, exploring, and experiencing the world is an event every person can love and no one can hate. There is undeniably a place meant for everyone to travel and enjoy all the same. Being a college student who loves to travel, I look for places to explore and revel in while keeping my expenses low. I recently traveled to north-eastern Canada to report back to Sundance Vacations about all the wonderful people, diverse places, and things to see that Canada has to offer. Preparing for the trip, I rented an RV to save money by not having to rent a room for four nights. It requires more gas to drive an RV, but saves you around $50 a night not renting a hotel room. I also took two forms of identification since a passport is not yet necessary to travel into Canada from the United States.
I decided to start my five day vacation off in Canada by traveling to the stunning and magical Niagara falls of Ontario. The intensity of one of Earth’s most natural landscapes in overwhelming with its’ beauty and power. Taking a ferry ride through its’ misting caress is hypnotizing. After the ferry ride I thought it would be a great idea to personally experience the taste of north-eastern Canada’s wine and its’ accompanying cuisine. Chefs on hand in the 50th Annual Wine-tasting and Dinner tour made your food to perfection while exemplifying the excellence of the years’ new vintages. With the day ending superbly, I recommend these activities for any one who loves the outdoors and a good meal at the end of a magical day; wanting the feeling of being completly content knowing it cost no more than $35. However, do not get lured into one of Niagara Falls’ many casinos, or there is the possibility of loosing all of your money and going home early!
Looking to make my vacation magical, I did not want to miss out on the natural beauty of the great outdoors, so I challenged myself to a day trip filled with canoeing and hiking through Ontario’s gripping landscapes of Killarney Park. After canoeing with newly bonded friends, travelers sit down for a picnic lunch in the beautiful lake-side hills, resting and gearing up for the hike to the highest peak of the park. The trip is perfect for all skill levels, especially beginners like me who have never been challenged like this before. Although it does cost a chunk of change, $80, the memory and experience is worth every penny! Killarney Park is another hidden treasure that Canada has to offer, and is a memory dreams are made of.
On the third day I made my way to Toronto to find the world’s tallest free standing building, standing 1,815 feet high. Standing out, towering over the city, is the Canadian National Tower (CN). It is an overwhelming idea to think about, but then see what endless hours of architectural design creates. While in Toronto I visited the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) to entertain, but most importantly enlighten my mind. The ROM has a gallery for everyone to enjoy, and become a part of another time or place. I especially enjoyed the Daphne Cockwell Gallery of Canada: First Peoples, the Galleries of Africa: Egypt, and the Gallery of Greece. This day was filled with endless information to fill the mind, but also broaden the imagination. The overall cost was a stunning and hot low price of only $15 for the ROM entrance fee and parking fee of $5. For travelers who use their own car and don’t fly I recommend parking your car for the day to experience the vibrancy of downtown Toronto from foot and not a car.
While in Toronto I visited a highly cultural place, the Hockey Hall of Fame. Everyone knows Canadians are known for their superior skills in Hockey, and their finely chiseled bodies. This is a place both men and women would enjoy visiting! The interesting and competitive feel of the museum is action-packed. It is an excellent place to visit when you only have a few hours to spare… and hey, who doesn‘t want to learn about women‘s minor and pro-leagues hockey for $13?
Ending my enlightening, uplifting, and enriching vacation, I yearned for another experience of Canada before heading home the fifth day of my vacation. I made my way to the Montreal Botanical Garden (MBG). There are thousands upon thousands of different plants to observe, numerous exhibits to explore, and educational events to attend highlighting different cultural and geographical gardens. The MBG does not only contain plants, but there are beautiful, diverse landscapes to explore that include exotic insects, ponds, and tree houses. The MBG is reminiscent of a fairy tale scene, at the low price of $16 entrance fee and $10 all-day parking pass. The MBG will keep you entranced under its’ grips all day long, so stopping for a bite to eat while there is possible at one of its’ many restaurants. No worries for those of you with allergies! I have allergies, but taking a Benadryl will quickly cure any annoyances.
Overall, I rated this trip 4 and 1/2 stars out of 5! The expenses to eat, buy gas, and experience all of the special locations I traveled to cost a mere… drum roll please… $500! I had the experience of a life time. At times I was swept away into mystical scenes, pushing my imagination further than I though it could reach. Other moments I was in awe of the simplistic wonders the world holds in its secret embrace. And yet, I was impressed by how far human intelligence can be expanded to create unimaginable feats of wonder! This is a trip that anyone could love and no one could hate; so take some time out of your busy life and enjoy this perfect vacation through Sundance Vacations!
Teddy Rigas
12 Years Old
Princeton, NJ Office
Scholarship Essay Contest 2007
Sundance Vacations
Agent Ted’s Maui Vacation
I am Travel Agent Ted. How are you doing today? I am reading this awesome popular magazine called Sundance Vacations. I am only twelve years old, but yeah, I still managed to get the job as a Travel Agent. I have been reading this magazine for a while and I have been browsing around at all of the vacation sites. One of the spots that really caught my attention is Maui, Hawaii. It is a really cool place!!!
I think that this is a really awesome place for many reasons. First of all, I would really enjoy the weather there. I like the nice crisp sun burning on me with a nice flow of cool and silky breezes, blowing on my face. I would assume for anyone that Maui is a really amazing place to travel to and get away! I also like the people and the entertainment in this location. I think that the guys who climb up 75 foot high trees like Palm and Sequoias are so cool and also the way people twirl fire in the air is just incredible! It is a nice getaway for the whole entire family. Another thing is the food that is great like the tender and crunchy soft seafood, fresh from the surrounding oceans that border Hawaii.
Speaking of seafood, another cool and exciting thing is to go swimming there. You can swim with the Dolphins, holding onto their fins. That is a real hot, catchy main attraction! There are only a few not so cool things about Hawaii. Make sure you do not get ripped off for things you purchase and watch your wallet for those pick-pocketing tourists. You also might get hot, so find shade or continue to swim for a while. What is also kind of lame are no theme parks. So, if this locations not for kids who love the adventure of a theme park, then you may want to try something like Florida’s Disney World, another Sundance Vacation destination in the magazine. Don’t worry; you can also simply just keep looking for your interests at a different part of Hawaii near Maui to have additional fun.
I think that Hawaii is a great place to be and have fun with your family, friends, and loved ones. Keep looking through those magazines at Sundance Vacations and find what best suits you. I think that you should have a fun time in Maui and that you are going to have a blast if you try Maui! Trust me, it is an awesome choice!!!
In Hawaii there will also be people you will meet and new things that you can see, an experience that you will remember your whole life. Imagine yourself climbing a Volcano and looking at the beautiful twilight sunset with your Family. It’s a cool thing, but just remember that you will never go wrong with Sundance Vacations, all it takes is just a signature and that is the ticket to Hawaii. It will be the best time of your life and I guarantee that you will never regret this ever! I may sound too excited and persuasive, but it is! It will be to your benefit in the long run and will bring you a whole life time of great memories of fun, adventure, and excitement!!!
You will have a ball taking vacations to so many places around the United States and the Caribbean part of the globe, this is definitely a fact. But do not forget your equipment like surf boards and tanning lotion on the beach, because that is another hot activity as well. Does this sound like a bad idea to you? I did not think so! There are many new things for you to explore and to let your imagination run wild, just as if you were sight seeing by the breathtaking clear blue sky hovering over the oceans of Maui!
Just keep in mind that it is you making one of the smartest decisions of your life. A once in a lifetime experience and that is your ticket off to Maui, baby! You will be flying away to Hawaii and you will be talking to everybody about it is well, ALOHA!!! Just take it from me, Travel Agent Ted, that you can never go wrong with Sundance Vacations. So have a blast at your next vacation! You will have an awesome adventure that your about to embark on!
Hi, my name is Ashley Merola. I’m fifteen years old and was asked to write an article describing my last vacation to New Orleans. It was truthfully a phenominal and exciting experience.
When we were arriving in New Orleans you could smell the delicious cooking seeping in through the car windows and hear the muffled music and chattering of people walking down the street. The culture was so different from anything I have ever seen, and I mean that in a good way. There was so much to see and do that our week vacation didn’t even seem to put a dent in it. The town itself was fascinating. We went on two tours on the local history and they were great. One was in a horse and buggy ride the other was in an open top bus. There is so much history in the town and the stories are captivating. We went on a swamp tour and the swamps were so neat. The alligators came right up to the boat! We also got to see three different plantations that were renovated to look like they did when they were built and I have to say the plantations were remarkable. My mom’s a huge history buff and these tours were right up her alley.
Even though New Orleans seems to be trademarked as an adult vacation, I and my sister both had a blast. They offered a lot for kids to do. I and my family also visited the aquarium which was gigantic; my younger sister especially enjoyed that. We went to see movies in the IMAX Theater, which was enormous. They had 3D movies that were unreal. We also went down to the children’s museum, which was just fantastic. There were multiple underage clubs, but I didn’t have an opportunity to attend one, they seemed really great from the outside.
The cuisine itself was an experience. You could smell southern cooking from anywhere in the town. We ate at N.O.L.A. which was definitely my favorite restaurant. It is owned by Emeril, who has his own show on the food network. We also ate at “Mother’s” which was featured in the movie “Pretty in Pink”. One last restaurant I feel that deserves to be mentioned was “Pat O’Brian’s” which is known all over the United States for its southern cooking. But I have to say; no matter where we ate the food was always something new; I even had alligator. Of course they had traditional American food, which is what my sister seemed to stick to mostly while being there.
Another thing that I personally loved and wish that I could have been more involved in was the nightlife. The transition from day to night was almost unnoticeable when it came to the amount of people walking around town and going out to eat. Bourbon Street seemed to be the main attraction though. As you walked down the street all you could hear was the applauding of crowds and the different jazz bands playing improv. music. Also there were street performers that pretended to be mimes and statues! The smell of gumbo and southern cooking once again was just phenomenal as it filled the air around the restraints and bars. One night while walking down Bourbon Street we saw a film crew shooting a show for MTV! It was really cool.
New Orleans is an breathtaking town you need to experience yourself to fully understand how amazing it really is. It was one vacation that I will never forget, and by far my favorite vacation to date. It’s such a special and unique place and it really is a town for everyone and anyone. No matter what age you are there is something exciting for you to do. I can see myself going back on another family vacation or going back with my friends in a few years. I highly recommend taking this vacation. It was just insanely fantastic, and a wonderful experience.