StorageMart, a self-storage company with more than 130 locations across the United States and Canada, recently gave away $1,000 scholarships to five students pursuing degrees at various levels of higher education as part of the its 2012 ScholarSmarts program. The following students received the scholarships:

Out of a pool of nearly 200 submissions, winners were chosen on the basis of essays written answering the question, What link is there between a clutter-free workspace and increased productivity? or How has self-storage improved your lifestyle? Winning essays have been published to the Storage Insider, StorageMart's blog.

ScholarSmarts scholarships are open to any student enrolled at any college, university, apprenticeship program or other institution of higher learning. The $1,000 gifts are given directly to the recipients, allowing for use toward any expenses involved with the pursuit of higher education, such as tuition, books, rent, mortgage, child care or other living expenses.

StorageMart will launch another ScholarSmarts program leading up to the beginning of the Fall 2012 semester. Updates will be available on the company's Facebook page, www.facebook.com/StorageMart, and Twitter page, www.twitter.com/StorageMart.