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Every year, we have the opportunity to do something truly special at Headway. This time, we award a $1,500 scholarship to a student who understands the transformative power of books. Not just the fiction-for-fun kind (though those are great too), but the books that make you think differently about your life, your choices, and maybe even your future career.
This year's scholarship asked students to think big: If humanity needed a survival guide, which book would Gen Z nominate? We wanted to see what matters to the generation that's going to inherit all our problems (sorry about that, by the way) and hopefully solve a few of them too.
The responses we got? They were thoughtful, sometimes surprising, and definitely not your typical "here's my GPA" application. Over 450 students sent us essays and videos explaining which books they'd hand to humanity in a crisis. And honestly, their choices gave us hope.
The scholarship theme: Gen Z's survival guide
Picture this: The world's in trouble (not hard to imagine, right?), and you get to choose one book to help humanity figure things out. What do you pick?
We threw this question at students across the US, and what came back wasn't a list of the latest TikTok-famous reads or self-help trends. Instead, Gen Z reached for books that tackle the hard stuff — finding meaning when life gets brutal, understanding how we got here as a species, and building better habits in a world that makes it way too easy to doomscroll instead.
The top three picks tell you everything about what this generation values:
'Man's Search for Meaning' by Viktor Frankl took the crown. Frankl was a psychiatrist and a concentration camp survivor during World War II. In the most brutal conditions, he saw that even when a person cannot control anything — not freedom, not food, not even tomorrow — they can always choose how to respond to their situation.
Frankl's central idea is this: You don't need to seek meaning somewhere far away. You can find it even in suffering if you understand your purpose within it.
This book sounds like an antivirus against apathy. It teaches readers not to run away from difficulties, but to make them part of their journey. Gen Z isn't looking for toxic positivity — they want wisdom that acknowledges life is hard but still worth living.
'Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind' by Yuval Noah Harari came in second. This one's a 70,000-year recap of how we went from hunting mammoths to scrolling Instagram. Students picked it because they want perspective.
They know they're living through massive changes — AI, the climate crisis, and social movements — and understanding how humans have adapted before gives them a framework for how we might adapt again.
'Atomic Habits' by James Clear grabbed third place. While the first two books focus on big-picture meaning and history, this one's about the Tuesday morning when you can't get out of bed and need to finish a paper. It's proof that Gen Z isn't just philosophical — they're practical. They want tools that work in real life, not just ideas that sound good in theory.
Students also gave shout-outs to 'The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People' by Stephen Covey, 'The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks' by Rebecca Skloot, 'The Bible,' and 'The Four Agreements' by Don Miguel Ruiz.
These choices demonstrate a generation that's drawing wisdom from a diverse range of sources — ancient texts, modern psychology, science, and spirituality.
Meet the winner: Ian Klimov
Out of all the applications we received, one stood out for capturing exactly what this scholarship is about — combining curiosity, ambition, and a genuine love for learning.
Ian Klimov is our 2025 winner.
Here's what Ian told us:
"Winning the Headway Scholarship has been an inspiring reminder of the importance of curiosity and storytelling in science. This award brings me closer to my goal of becoming a surgeon-scientist who thrives in both scientific research and medical application. To future applicants, I urge you to keep asking questions; staying curious will get you far in life."
A surgeon-scientist! What's really exciting about this profession is the fact that a surgeon researcher can operate on a patient with a brain tumor today, then work in the lab tomorrow to understand why that tumor developed in the first place and potentially prevent it for someone else in the future.
It's like being a detective and a hero at the same time. It's the kind of career that requires you to stay curious about everything — not just the textbook answers, but the questions that haven't been asked yet.
Ian gets that books aren't just about facts you memorize for exams. They're about the stories that make those facts stick, the perspectives that change how you see problems, and the ideas that push you to ask better questions.
The scholarship money will certainly help with tuition. But what matters more is that Ian represents what Headway believes about reading — it's not a hobby you outgrow. It's a tool you use to build the life and career you actually want.
What's next? Stay tuned for next year's scholarship
Good news: We're doing this again in 2026.
If you're a US student (or you know one) who's thinking about college expenses and cares about books and ideas, keep an eye on our updates. We'll announce the theme, requirements, and application deadline later this year.
This scholarship isn't about perfect grades or checking boxes. We want to see how books have shaped your thinking and where you're headed. Maybe you're like Ian, connecting science with storytelling. Maybe you want to bring philosophy into tech, history into activism, or psychology into design. Whatever your path looks like, we want to hear about it.
We created this scholarship because we believe books — especially the non-fiction ones that challenge you and teach you something new — can change the trajectory of your education and your life. Check back soon for details about the 2026 scholarship. In the meantime, keep reading, keep asking questions, and keep figuring out which books belong in your personal survival guide.
The 15-minute summaries we offer at Headway are great for busy days, but there's something powerful about diving deep into a full book and letting it reshape your perspective.
Congrats again to Ian. We can't wait to see where your curiosity takes you. And to future applicants, keep an eye out. Your dream essay or video could be next!
