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EAST CONFERENCE 2026

March 17-19, 2026

Logo by Anna Beth Smith & Tamar Farmer
of Nettleton STEAM Intermediate

2026 Founder’s and Cornerstone

The Founder’s Award and Cornerstone Awards recognize programs that exemplify the core principles of EAST. Built on the cornerstones of project sophistication & innovation, student growth & engagement, and community & collaboration, EAST provides students opportunities to create their own journey to their own destiny. These competitions give students the opportunity to reflect on their experiences in EAST and tell the story of their program's successes. Submit one application that includes one video, and you are then entered in the competition for the Founder’s Award or any one of the three (3) Cornerstone. To qualify, all details and descriptions must be complete. This information is used in the project description and as a part of the judging criteria for this competition. The submission deadline is 3:00 pm CST on February 6, 2026.

Submission Guidelines

REMEMBER: The submission form will automatically close at 3:00 pm CST on the deadline date. If you are in the middle of submitting a form at this time, your submission will NOT be received. Please remember that upload speeds can vary depending on file type, school bandwidth, etc. Deadline days have a high volume of submission traffic, which can also cause delays in uploading files and submitting applications. If you encounter an issue on the day of a deadline, EAST staff may only have limited availability to provide assistance. EAST staff will not grant a deadline extension. It is recommended that you DO NOT wait until the last day or the last minute to submit your application.

Step 1- Complete the Letter of Intent

Deadline: 3 pm CST on January 16, 2026

The Letter of Intent is the initial step in applying for the EAST Founders and Cornerstone Competitions. To be eligible for the competitions, a letter must be submitted. You may withdraw from the competition after submitting your Letter of Intent, but you will not be able to submit for these awards without sending in a Letter of Intent by the deadline.

Step 2- Get Ready

Before submitting your application, make sure you have all the required materials:

  • Application Video

Application Video Requirements

The application for Founder’s and Cornerstone is one single video that gives solid evidence of the impact your EAST experiences have had on all those involved. Content is key! Show AND tell a good narrative. If you only want to be considered for one of the components of Cornerstone, you are free to focus the entire content on that one area.

  • Maximum Length 10 minutes
  • Format: .mp4 encoded with H.264 codec or .mov
  • HD resolution of 1920 X 1080 preferred
  • File name = EAST at "School Name" Founders 2025

If your video is over the 1GB limit, you can use the free program Handbrake to render the video at a lower resolution/quality to meet the file size requirement.

Step 3- Complete the Online Application (Coming Soon)

Deadline: 3 pm CST on February 6, 2026 (See information above: Submission Guidelines)

Step 4- Submit

After completing the online application, click the "Submit" button. Once you see the "Submission Received" page, you will not be able to make any changes. If you do not receive an email confirmation, assume there was an error and your submission was not completed. Please go back and complete the online application again. If you still do not receive an email, please contact events@EASTstaff.org.