[Nfbnet-members-list] National Federation of the Blind Recognizes Thirty Outstanding Blind Students: Brianna Brown of Texas Awarded $12, 000 Scholarship

Kuhnke, Kristian KKuhnke at nfb.org
Wed Aug 12 14:04:27 UTC 2015


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Chris Danielsen
Director of Public Relations
National Federation of the Blind
(410) 659-9314, extension 2330
(410) 262-1281 (Cell)
<mailto:cdanielsen at nfb.org>cdanielsen at nfb.org


National Federation of the Blind Recognizes Thirty Outstanding Blind Students

Brianna Brown of Texas Awarded $12,000 Scholarship

Baltimore, Maryland (August 12, 2015): 
<https://nfb.org>The National Federation of the 
Blind (NFB), the nation’s oldest and largest 
organization of blind people, today announced the 
winners of its 2015 scholarships, which were 
awarded at the organization’s recent national 
convention in Orlando. The winner of the 
organization’s top prize of $12,000, donated by 
the American Action Fund for Blind Children and 
Adults, was Brianna Brown of Texas, who is 
pursuing a career in special education. The other 
winners are listed below in alphabetical order 
with their home states, vocational goals, and 
scholarship awards where applicable. Unless 
otherwise indicated, each received a National 
Federation of the Blind Scholarship in the amount of $3,000.

·         Katie Adkins, KY: Teacher
·         Douglas Alt, MI: College professor
·         Karen Arcos, CA: Policy advocacy
·         Annika Ariel, CA: Disability law
·         Liliya Asadullina, PA: Naturopathic doctor
·         Michael Ausbun, NV: Foundational professor
·         Mary Church, CA: Psychology
·         Chase Crispin, NE: Public school band 
director ($5,000 National Federation of the Blind Scholarship)
·         MarChé Daughtry, VA: Law ($3,000 Adrienne Asch Scholarship)
·         Bryan Duarte, AZ: Software engineer
·         Alexandra Engraf, ND: Human services, counseling
·         Lashawna Fant, MS: Counselor ($3,000 
E.U. and Gene Parker Scholarship)
·         Robert Gulledge, AL: Secondary education
·         Dezman Jackson, MD: Health education ($3,000 Pearson Scholarship)
·         Mary Abby Jusayan, RI: Teacher of the 
visually impaired ($5,000 Larry Streeter Scholarship)
·         Kaitlyn Kellermeyer, TX: Government 
service or investing ($8,000 Oracle Excellence in STEM Scholarship)
·         Miriam Lozneanu, SC: Programmer
·         Nefertiti Matos, NY: Helping/teaching profession
·         Sarah Meyer, IN: Mental health 
counseling ($10,000 Charles and Melva T. Owen Scholarship)
·         Mark Myers II, MO: Computer and software design/development
·         Crystal Plemmons, NC: Community college instructor
·         Jason Polansky, MD: Youth ministry, counseling, or civil engineering
·         Karolline Sales, LA: Braille teacher 
($5,000 National Federation of the Blind Scholarship)
·         Kaitlin Shelton, OH: Music therapy 
($5,000 National Federation of the Blind Scholarship)
·         Christopher Stewart, KY: Legal field
·         Teri Stroschein, OR: School counselor 
($3,000 Lillian S. Edelstein Scholarship for the Blind)
·         Kelsi Watters, WI: Spiritual counseling
·         Hannah Werbel, WA: Biomedical 
engineering ($8,000 Oracle Computer Science Scholarship)
·         Tamika Williams, AL: Blind 
services/entrepreneurship/social services ($3,000 
Charles and Melva T. Owen Scholarship)

“The scholarship program is one of our most 
important initiatives,” said Mark A. Riccobono, 
President of the 
<http://www.twitter.com/NFB_voice>National 
Federation of the Blind. “We are proud to honor 
these blind scholars, who are studying everything 
from electrical engineering to horticulture, and 
in so doing raising the expectations of what 
blind people can achieve. Their accomplishments 
raise the hopes and expectations of blind 
Americans and prove our conviction that we, the 
blind of this nation, can live the lives we want; 
blindness does not hold us back.”

More than seven hundred students competed for the 
NFB scholarships. A committee of blind persons 
representing a cross section of the NFB 
membership, including several former scholarship 
winners, narrowed the field to thirty finalists. 
Each finalist was then given roundtrip 
transportation, hotel accommodations, and 
assistance to attend the NFB convention in 
Orlando, where the committee spent several days 
getting to know each student. Only after that 
process was complete did the committee decide 
which scholarship to award each finalist. Nearly 
three thousand blind people attended the 
convention, the largest gathering of its kind in the United States this year.

In addition to the NFB scholarship, each of the 
thirty winners received a $1,000 check and plaque 
from Ray Kurzweil, a Google Chrome laptop, and a $1,000 cash award from Google.


###


About the National Federation of the Blind

The National Federation of the Blind knows that 
blindness is not the characteristic that defines 
you or your future. Every day we raise the 
expectations of blind people, because low 
expectations create obstacles between blind 
people and our dreams. You can live the life you 
want; blindness is not what holds you back.



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