Mission + Vision

The Bezos Scholars Program @ the Aspen Institute is a prestigious, seven-day, all-expense-paid scholarship that each summer brings together 12 of the country’s top public high school juniors at the Aspen Ideas Festival. Here, Bezos Scholars meet visionaries from around the globe—international leaders, acclaimed thinkers and creative artists—and engage in seminars, plenary sessions and informal meetings. It’s a time of great discovery and intellectual stimulation.

12 STUDENTS. 12 EDUCATORS. Upon selection of student scholars, chosen through our application process, an educator from each represented school is invited to participate, thereby offering a unique leadership development opportunity for principals, teachers, college counselors and curriculum coordinators.

We’re searching for independent thinkers, demonstrated leaders and engaged community members: curious and inspired high school juniors and exceptional educators. Why? Because, quite simply, we want to help nurture the leaders of tomorrow. It’s our hope that the Bezos Scholars Student/Educator teams return home from Aspen inspired by creative, big ideas and use the students’ senior years to create sustainable, local Ideas Festivals that transform their schools and communities.

The program was founded in 2005. It is funded by the Bezos Family Foundation and hosted by the Aspen Institute, a global forum for leadership and open-minded dialogue.

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