Submissions Are Open!!!
Philadelphia high school students, show off your one-of-a-kind talent to win one-of-a-kind prizes through the 2025 I AM PHL contest presented by PhillyGoes2College in partnership with Wawa Welcome America and Vanguard. Like PhillyGoes2College and The Wawa Welcome America Festival, this contest is a celebration of Philadelphia and a celebration of YOU. Your talent, your passions, your future.
Enter by submitting original work in music, visual art, or spoken word/public speaking performance. 🎤 🖋️ 🎨 Your work will be seen by judges at the forefront of Philadelphia’s creative and financial fields and one winner in each submission category will receive a $1,000 cash prize, the chance to be seen at the 2025 Wawa Welcome America Festival, and much more!
Read below 👇 for details on this year’s judges, prizes, and themes.
- January 15, 2025: I AM PHL opens for submissions
- March 15, 2024: I AM PHL Student Summit
- April 15, 2025: submission deadline
- May 2025: winners announced
- June 19 – July 4, 2025: Wawa Welcome America Festival
How To Enter
Please contact us at IAMPHL@philaedfund.org with any questions.
Rules for Entry
- You must be a Philadelphia high school student to enter.
- Students must work individually. We cannot accept entries from teams or groups.
- Entries that contain profanity or otherwise discriminatory language will be disqualified.
- Entries must be your original work. Covers will not be accepted and entries that contain plagiarism will be disqualified.
- Entries in music, visual art, or spoken word must respond to the theme (see below).
- Before you start working on your entry, see below for important guidelines for each submission category!
Respond to the Theme
Music, visual art, or spoken word performance submissions must be based on one of the two prompts below, each of which asks you to explore your vision for yourself and the City of Philadelphia and how your unique talents and aspirations will contribute to Philadelphia’s bright future.
- Option #1: College Bound, Philly Proud
- Being college-bound means chasing big dreams and making Philly proud. What does going to college mean to you? How has Philly shaped your journey? Use your submission to share your story and show you will rep Philly wherever you go!
- Option #2: My Future, My Philly
- Imagine your future and the amazing things you’ll do for yourself and your community. How will your dreams, goals, and talent make Philly even better? Use your submission inspire others to dream big, too!
- BONUS Option: Win an Additional $1k
- Imagine you are awarded an additional $1,000 in prize money. How would you choose to invest this to support your future? Consider how this investment could help you achieve your personal, educational, or artistic goals.
Whether you envision furthering your education, growing your artistic talents, or setting a foundation for financial stability, we encourage you to share your aspirations and strategies. Be creative and specific about how this prize could make a lasting impact on your journey.
Your response should be 500 words or less and will be evaluated by a panel, including representatives from Vanguard. Focus on demonstrating thoughtful planning, clarity of purpose, and a connection to your long-term vision.
- Imagine you are awarded an additional $1,000 in prize money. How would you choose to invest this to support your future? Consider how this investment could help you achieve your personal, educational, or artistic goals.
Submit Your Entry
Click here to submit your entry by the April 15th deadline. As a reminder, spoken word and music submissions should be videos, and visual art submissions should be hi-res photographs of your work.
Tips for Success in Music, Art, and Poetry
- Show us who you are: be specific, be original, be YOU!
- Choose a topic you are passionate about and make viewers feel that passion too.
- Judging criteria will include the quality, originality, and impact of the piece as well as its adherence to the theme.
- Ask your friends, teachers, or tutors for feedback. Make revisions and try out a few drafts before you decide you’ve arrived at your best work.
- In the music and poetry categories, illustrate your ideas using descriptive, precise, and concrete imagery or examples. As writing teachers the world over would say, “show instead of tell!”
- For the spoken word category, try to memorize your poem. This will allow you to perform your piece instead of simply reading it aloud.
Right to Share
By submitting to the I AM PHL contest, I grant the following entities the right to publish, reproduce, and/or adapt my entry and its contents (including for promotional purposes) online and/or in-person: PhillyGoes2College, the Wawa Welcome America Festival and festival partners, The Philadelphia Education Fund, The City of Philadelphia, NBC10 Philadelphia, Telemundo 62, Comcast NBCUniversal, Vanguard, and I AM PHL contest partners.
Spoken Word
Music
Visual Art
Submit a video performance of no more than three minutes. Your piece must be original, unpublished, and in response to the theme (see above). Note that the quality of the video is not important. The quality of your work is what matters!
🏆 Prizes
- $1,000 cash award
- Mentor session with Trapeta Mayson
- Opportunity to perform at the 2025 Wawa Welcome America Festival
- Two preferred seating area tickets to the festival’s July 4th concert and fireworks
- 1 year membership to REC Philly
👏 Judges
- Trapeta Mayson: 2020-2021 City of Philadelphia Poet Laureate and founder of Healing Verse Philly Poetry Line
- Malaya Ulan: 2024-2025 City of Philadelphia Youth Poet Laureate
- Sarahn N. Sankofa, MSW: Public Speaker and Coach, Community Development Coordinator for Senator Hughes
- Stacey Sandle: Spoken Word Artist and Manager, Spark Philadelphia, Philadelphia Education Fund
Submit a video of no more than three minutes. All lyrics and/or music must be original, unpublished, and in response to the theme (see above). Note that the quality of the video is not important. The quality of your work is what matters! We just want to see you playing the song– at school, at home, anywhere you like.
🏆 Prizes
- $1,000 cash award
- Mentor session with Kristal Oliver
- Opportunity to perform at the 2025 Wawa Welcome America Festival
- Two special guest experience tickets to the festival’s July 4th concert and fireworks
- Studio time and a one-year membership to Rec Philly
👏 Judges
- Chill Moody: HipHop Artist | Entrepreneur and founder of nicethingsMUSIC
- Kristal Oliver: Grammy Nominated Songwriter and Master Instructor featured in HBO’s Stand Up & Shout
- Ahmad Williams: Performing Artist and College Access Coordinator, Frankford High School | Philadelphia Education Fund
Entries of any style or medium of visual art (ex: painting, ceramics, photography, drawing) can be submitted. Entries must be original in both concept and execution and must respond to the theme (see above). Please submit a clear and well-lit digital photograph of your work along with a 3-4 sentence artist statement.
🏆 Prizes
- $1,000 cash award
- Mentor session with Jane Golden
- Opportunity to display your work at the 2025 Wawa Welcome America Festival
- Two preferred seating area tickets to the festival’s July 4th concert and fireworks
- 1 year membership to REC Philly
👏 Judges
- Jane Golden: Artist and Executive Director of Mural Arts Philadelphia
- abrilliantnomad (Tiayrra Bradley): Art Director and Set Designer
- Liza Rangal: Photographer and Senior Program Manager, Middle Grade Initiatives, Philadelphia Education Fund
Submit here!
You did it! You crafted an entry for the I AM PHL contest and now you’re ready to submit. 🎉 Congratulations and thank you for your hard work!
Head here to submit now.