[nfbmi-talk] Scholarship Application

Tue Jun 3 01:06:39 UTC 2014

Since the board does not make an amount decision until the August board
meeting (past years practice), how about a statement that a scholarship may
range from $100 to $1000, as determined by the board, dependent on available
resources.  That should give any potentially interested student the
information to decide the worth of making an application. 

-----Original Message-----
From: nfbmi-talk [mailto:nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of joe
harcz Comcast via nfbmi-talk
Sent: Monday, June 02, 2014 7:57 AM
To: Elizabeth Mohnke; NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List
Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] Scholarship Application

Hello All,

Would the board consider this as a solution?

1. We define that there are two $500 scholarships available, clearly.
2. The scholarship committee will asign a member to mentor each scholarship 
winner both through the convention and as a follow up to it.

Not sniping here but just trying to make some positive suggestions that 
might address Elizabeth's concerns.

Again just suggestions.

Joe
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Elizabeth Mohnke via nfbmi-talk" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
To: "Terri Wilcox" <trising at sbcglobal.net>; "NFB Michigan" 
<nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, June 01, 2014 9:42 PM
Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] Scholarship Application

> 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
>>
>
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