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.

• 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. 

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.