1. must be legally blind (PDF document) in both eyes, and
2. must be residing in the United States, the District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico, and
3. must be pursuing or planning to pursue a full-time, postsecondary course of study in a degree program at a United States’ institution in the 2009 scholastic year, except that one scholarship may be given to a person employed full-time while attending school part-time, and
4. must participate in the entire NFB national convention and in all scheduled scholarship program activities. (Read “More Than Just Money for School” by Anil Lewis [available November 15th])

 

In addition to a scholarship, each winner will be brought to the 2009 National Federation of the Blind Annual Convention in July at Federation expense, providing an excellent opportunity for high level networking with active blind persons in many, many different professions and occupations. 

The scholarship application deadline is March 31, 2009, 5:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

What kind of student wins an NFB scholarship?  Read about past NFB National Scholarship recipients in the August-September issues of the Braille Monitor.

• Braille Monitor August-September 2008
• Braille Monitor August-September 2007 
• Braille Monitor August-September 2006

Each year’s Scholarship Application information is made available online, by mail, and in the November issue of the Braille Monitor (available in large print, Braille, cassette, and online). 

To apply for a scholarship online, please begin here:

• About the NFB Scholarship Program
• Submissions Checklist
• Applicant Instructions
• Frequently Asked Questions (Scholarships FAQ)
• 2009 Scholarship Application Form [The opening of the NFB Scholarship Program is announced in the fall in the NFB’s national magazine, the Braille Monitor. Obtain your own free subscription to know when to apply for next year’s scholarships. The National Federation of the Blind Scholarship Program deadline is always March 31 and scholarship applications are not accepted after that date until the next year’s contest begins.]
• Confirmation of Legal Blindness (PDF document)
• 2009 List of Scholarships, $12,000 to $3,000
• NFB Divisions, Groups, and Committees

All questions should be directed to the Chairman. E-mail is preferred.

NFB Scholarship Committee

Mr. Anil Lewis, Chairman
Office:    (410) 659-9314, x2415
E-mail: scholarships@nfb.org

Each year everyone looks forward to meeting the new scholarship class and to hearing what its members are doing now and planning to do with their lives in the future.

On Friday evening, toward the close of the banquet, Anil Lewis came to the podium one final time to present the year’s winners and give an academic and personal sketch of each after announcing which scholarship the person had been awarded. This year each winner crossed the platform and shook hands with President Maurer and Ray Kurzweil. In addition to his or her NFB scholarship, each also received a $1,000 check and plaque from the Kurzweil Foundation, the brand new KNFB Reader Mobile presented by Ray Kurzweil himself, and the latest Kurzweil 1000 reading system software from Kurzweil Educational Systems.

The final award presented in this year’s scholarship extravaganza, which took place at the banquet on July 4, was the Kenneth Jernigan Memorial Scholarship of $12,000, presented to Leslie Penko, who then spoke briefly to the audience. Her remarks appear later in this article.

But earlier in the week, at the meeting of the NFB board of directors, the twenty-five 2008 NFB scholarship winners and five tenBroek Fellows, who were each receiving a second scholarship, came to the microphone and spoke directly to the Federation. Here is the complete list of 2008 scholarship winners and the awards they received:

$3,000 National Federation of the Blind Scholarships: William Black, Kathryn Carroll, Chelsey Duranleau, Timothy Elder, Joseph Engel, Justin Hodge, Janice Jeang, John Mahler, Trevor Saunders, Matthew Simpson, A. J. Smith, Amanda Swanson, and André Tynes

$3,000 National Federation of the Blind Educator of Tomorrow Award: Tomás Cintrón Rivera

$3,000 NFB Computer Science Scholarship: Isaiah Wilcox

$3,000 Hermione Grant Calhoun Scholarship: Rebecca Ledder

$3,000 Kuchler-Killian Memorial Scholarship: Nikki Singh

$3,000 Charles and Melva T. Owen Scholarship: Faith Penn

$3,000 Howard Brown Rickard Scholarship: Allison deFranco

$3,000 E. U. Parker Scholarship: Nijat Worley

$3,000 Guide Dogs for the Blind Dorthea and Roland Bohde Leadership Scholarship: Elizabeth Allred

$3,000 Network 2000 Betsy Zaborowski Memorial Scholarship: Carolyn Watson

$5,000 Michael Marucci Memorial Scholarship: Sara Minkara

$5,000 Jennica Ferguson Memorial Scholarship: Mika Baugh

$5,000 2008 Dan Ryles Memorial Scholarship: Andrew Johnson

$5,000 Hank LeBonne Scholarship: Alyssa Bates

$7,000 National Federation of the Blind Scholarship: Buna Dahal

$7,000 National Federation of the Blind Scholarship: Stacy Cervenka

$10,000 Charles and Melva T. Owen Memorial Scholarship: Michelle Gittens

$12,000 Kenneth Jernigan Memorial Scholarship (Donated by the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults): Leslie Penko