[nfbmi-talk] Scholarship Application

[Elizabeth Mohnke via nfbmi-talk]

Hello Terri,



Thank you for your response. However, it is rather disappointing to see this message was sent privately rather than publically. We discussed the scholarship program at great length during our state student division meeting tonight. Since there were several peple on this call who were interested in your response, I have posted my response publically as well as privately.



While I appreciate your response, there does not appear to be any information regarding how the scholarship committee will determine the amountes for the scholarships during the state convention. This information is not included on the application form, and I am concerned people will not be able to fully understand how the amount of their scholarship will be determined. If people who wish to apply for the scholarship do not know how much the scholarship is worth, then there is a good chance we will not receive many applications for our scholarships.



As for our scholarship program being more like the national scholarship program, this is simply not the case. The amount of each and every scholarship given out at national convention is listed on the scholarship information website. The amounts of the scholarships have already been determined before the convention, so the scholarship committee simply decides which scholarship each scholarship winner will receive.



Therefore, if we were to follow the national model, we would state up front that we have one scholarship worth $400 and one scholarship worth $600 in our application materials if we wanted to have two scholarships of different amounts. The scholarship committee would then determine which scholarship winner would receive the $400 scholarship, and which scholarship winner  would receive the $600 scholarship at the state convention.



However, based on what is listed in the application form, there is no way for anyone to know how much either one of the scholarships are worth, so who is to say there would not be a $50 scholarship and a $950 scholarship? How is this fair to the scholarship winners if you are not willing to state this up front in the application form? Therefore, I believe it is important for the scholarship committee to explain the methods and criteria they will use for determining the amounts of the scholarships during the state convention in the application form.



As for the scholarship committee setting up a mentoring program for the scholarship winners at state convention this year, how does the committee plan to do this when they are involved with other important aspects of the convention? as last year's scholarship winner, I had absolutely no contact with the scholarship committee during the state convention besides the presentation during the banquet. 



The national scholarship committee interacts with each and every scholarship winner throughout the week of national convention. How does the scholarship committee plan to do this for a convention that is only a weekend? While it is not necessarily important for this information to be listed on the application form, it is important for the scholarship committee to give some thought as to how this could be accomplished during the state convention.



I believe students who apply for our scholarship program should be able to fully understand the scholarship process, and the scholarship application form does not seem to be clear about this process. So again, if you could please address these issues to ensure whe have a successful scholarship program this year, it would be greatly appreciated.



Warm regards,

Elizabeth Mohnke
  > From: trising at sbcglobal.net
> To: lizmohnke at hotmail.com
> Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] Scholarship Application
> Date: Sun, 1 Jun 2014 20:20:59 -0400
> 
> June 1, 2014
> 
> Dear Elizabeth:
> 
>      Two students will be chosen as Michigan's Scholarship winners. The only thing that is to be determined by the committee at 
> State Convention is the exact amount of the Scholarship. This is very like what happens with Scholarship winners at National 
> Convention. Each winner is notified that they have received a Scholarship, but not the exact amount. Exact Scholarship amounts are 
> determined at Convention. Either way, both Scholarship recipients are winners. They receive expenses paid trips to State Convention. 
> They also receive money that they did not have before in the form of the Scholarship. They also receive mentoring and opportunities 
> to interact with other blind adults who can help them learn that blindness does not have to hold them back and that even though they 
> are blind that they can follow their dreams. Many scholarship winners report that intangibles such as a trip to Convention and the 
> opportunity to learn from blind mentors end up being more valuable than the money part of the Scholarship.
> 
> Sincerely,
> Terri Wilcox
> Secretary, National Federation of the Blind of Michigan 
>