The Final 5, Amari, Liz, Melissa, Milana, and Scot are all notified by Rob Nelson that they will be facing three big questions from the Scholarship committee? These questions will be the most important questions of their lives, so they had better be prepared. All of the scholars are quite nervous, but there is no time for that as they head straight in for individual questioning. After these interviews, the scholars will be narrowed down to 3, so the pressure is on.

The Questions:

1. If you could have dinner with any famous person, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
2. What is your greatest weakness? How have you over come it, and if not, how do you plan on dealing with it?
3. What keeps you up at night? Both a personal issue and a global issue.

Scot was very pensive and decided that Jesus Christ would be the best person to have dinner with because he would be able to clear up much of what has been misconstrued through interpretation. He felt that because religion affects so many people’s lives, that Jesus would be potentially the most influential person to talk to and his conversation with him could potentially have the most fruitful results.

As for his weakness, Scot faulted himself for in the past not having enough passion to see things through and finish that which he started. While he admits that it is a constant struggle, he also feels that he has greatly improved upon this aspect of himself.

Scot finishes by saying that he is kept awake by human laziness. He believes that people are basically good but that because people seek the path of least resistance, corruption is prevalent.

Moving on to Melissa, she wants to have dinner with Plato, referring to the cave theory and how you can not know truth. She feels that her time on The Scholar has led to self discovery and would like to share her revelations with someone who could help her shed light on them. In an aside to the Camera, Melissa admits that she is not sure if the cave theory belonged to Plato or Aristotle and that a flaw would probably kill her chances. (Foe those of you scoring at home, Melissa is correct, Plato was the man behind the cave theory, better known as the “allegory of the cave.”)

Melissa tries to think of how the world’s problems can be solved and feels that everything must start with diversity and understanding. Not expounding much more due to the virtues of editing, we move on to Milana.

Milana wants to have dinner with her godmother who passed away 2 years ago back in the Soviet Union. She was the first doctor in Milana’s family and is much of her inspiration as she was one of the few women who would stand up for what they believed in regardless of the conditions.

As for what keeps her awake, Stem Cell research’s lack of usage bothers her because society’s lack of readiness is preventing major ailments such as cancer from being cured.

Amari wants to have dinner with Barack Obama because eh represents the classic American dream coming from a humble background and having a great new fresh view on politics.

Amari feels that her greatest weakness is paying too much attention to what other think of her. She recognizes that she has much to share with people and that she should not be afraid to share it.

Liz wants to have dinner with Angelina Jolie (gasp!! No really, the scholarship committee almost died upon hearing her response). In justification, Liz related that Angelina has chosen a lifestyle that most only take for the fame and the riches but has superseded that in order to give back to others.

Other than being kept awake at night by her last answer, Liz is bothered by terrorism and the fact that constant fear could mean the end of democracy.

Post interviews, all of the scholars are nervous and specifically, Scot is quite sure that he won’t be selected to continue.

Back with the scholarship committee, deliberations are fierce. All are agreed that Amari’s presentation skills have greatly improved just over the week of the competition. They feel Melissa clearly has more maturity than any of these kids, although they wished she had taken her statement about diversity further to make it more universal. As for Liz, and I quote Marquesa, “I could have just jumped off the building” when she said Angelina Jolie. The committee did acknowledge that Miss Jolie is a humanitarian, but were disappointed by the answer’s lack of academic merit. Milana’s dedication to stem cell research was commended, but they were concerned with her lack of breadth. The committee was surprised by Scot’s unexpected thoughtful nature. They recognized his nerves and also felt he dropped the ball in doting on human laziness.

And now for the results…

Melissa is in.

So is Amari…

And the third and final choice is Scot.

So as we say goodbye to Milana and Liz we say hello to the rest of the rejected contestants. For those of you who care, Davis is still whining about having lost on something that he actually knew. As for everyone else, the big question is who the final 3 are. As the top 5 arrive, the announcement is made and now the bigger decisions are on the table.

For the second part of these final eliminations, each of the scholars must select a reference. They have to select one of the eliminated scholars to advocate them before the scholarship committee. Now as should be no surprise, Melissa selected Milana. In fact, Melissa selected Milana even before leaving the building from the last set of interviews. Likewise, but more surprisingly, Amari selected Liz to speak on her behalf.

As for Scot, he seemed somewhat lost. He admitted that he did not forge many relationships during the competition and as a result he was not sure who to ask. However after an interlude of WWE style wrestling between Melissa and Davis (Max loved how uninhibited Melissa was) Scot chose Jeremy because he knew that everything Jeremy does is done with a heartfelt passion. Jeremy gladly agreed, and now we await the speeches.

All of the advocacy speeches are written and spoken very passionately. Some notes of interest are that Milana brought up that Melissa never lost a challenge, Jeremy mentioned how the load of shame that he would have to go home with was lightened by Scot’s reassurance and that Liz acknowledged that Amari’s strength was her ability to bind together the expertise of her teammates.

However, these scholars were not the only ones to advocate the finalists. Out from the shadows came the teachers and mentors who have played such large roles in these scholars’ lives.

For Melissa, her music teacher James Whiting.

For Scot, his mentor Ram Goel, Ph. D.

And for Amari, her college counselor Annalee Nissenholtz, Ph. D.

All of these influential mentors spoke highly of their respective scholars and if their advocacy did anything it stressed the magnitude of the situation.

All that is left is for the final 3 to speak their own personal piece.

Final Speeches

Emotional, Melissa is happy to know that she has touched others and affected people in a positive manner. She threw away her prepared speech because the advocacy she received was so moving that she felt the need to speak from her heart. She wants to direct all of her passion to give back to the community.

Scot is confident in the way that he has succeeded through personal adversity. He knows that the challenges that lie ahead he can handle, and more so feels his aptitude will constantly grow. With the help of this scholarship he plans to continue his personal growth and seek out challenges that will not only benefit him but society as well.

Amari relates life to fixing a family dinner. You can live life in a simple macaroni and cheese way or you can reach into the recipes book and spice things up. She may not literally be the best cook, but she implores the committee to see in her the strength to make positive change and impact society.

With that the competition is over. All that remains is the final decision, and as is necessary for any reality show there is conflict. Peter Johnson seems to be leaning toward Amari and her academic credentials citing that academic preparedness is his number 1 criteria. While Shawn Abbott and Marquesa Lawrence both agree that Amari and Scot are both ahead of Melissa, Marquesa argues that they should be more concerned with what they saw over the past week. Shawn adds that Melissa is light years ahead of the others as far as community service goes. With that, the committee is left to break a stalemate.

The next day at the final ceremony all of the parents and teacher advocates are gathered to congratulate all of the scholars. With praises being lauded on them, Milana and Liz are awarded their $50,000 scholarships. Further, as a secondary award, all of the non qualifying scholars are awarded $20,000 scholarship once again on behalf of Wal-Mart. Then after about eight minutes of drawn out speeches, including one from Eli Broad (pronounced like a highway with a b in front) head of the Broad Foundation, the provider of the $240,000 scholarship.

Without further ado, “The Scholar” is…

May I have the envelope please?

Melissa!

Shoot the streamers! Start the party! There are hugs and kisses all around and Melissa’s mother rushes the stage. Everyone is happy and while I am sure some of the students wish it was them, everyone seems genuinely happy. With that, “The Scholar” has drawn to a close, so we leave you and this recap with a list of the college which the scholars will be attending. (Please don’t stalk them).

Milana - Princeton University
Liz - Yale University
Jeremy - Harvard University
Amari - Columbia University
Max - Columbia University
Gerald - University of North Texas
Alyssa - Harvard University
Davis - University of Southern California
Scot - Dartmouth University
Melissa - Pomona College

For “The Scholar,” Good Luck and Good Night.