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<b>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<br>
</b> <br>
<b>CONTACT:<br>
</b>Chris Danielsen<br>
Director of Public Relations<br>
National Federation of the Blind <br>
(410) 659-9314, extension 2330<br>
(410) 262-1281 (Cell)<br>
<a href="mailto:cdanielsen@nfb.org">cdanielsen@nfb.org</a><br>
<br>
<div align="center"><b> <br>
National Federation of the Blind Recognizes Thirty Outstanding Blind
Students<br>
<br>
<i>Brianna Brown of Texas Awarded $12,000 Scholarship<br>
</i></div>
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Baltimore, Maryland (August 12, 2015):</b> <a href="https://nfb.org">The
National Federation of the Blind</a> (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.<br>
<br>
· Katie Adkins, KY:
Teacher<br>
· Douglas Alt, MI:
College professor<br>
· Karen Arcos, CA: Policy
advocacy<br>
· Annika Ariel, CA:
Disability law<br>
· Liliya Asadullina, PA:
Naturopathic doctor<br>
· Michael Ausbun, NV:
Foundational professor<br>
· Mary Church, CA:
Psychology<br>
· Chase Crispin, NE:
Public school band director ($5,000 National Federation of the Blind
Scholarship)<br>
· MarChé Daughtry, VA:
Law ($3,000 Adrienne Asch Scholarship)<br>
· Bryan Duarte, AZ:
Software engineer<br>
· Alexandra Engraf, ND:
Human services, counseling<br>
· Lashawna Fant, MS:
Counselor ($3,000 E.U. and Gene Parker Scholarship)<br>
· Robert Gulledge, AL:
Secondary education<br>
· Dezman Jackson, MD:
Health education ($3,000 Pearson Scholarship)<br>
· Mary Abby Jusayan, RI:
Teacher of the visually impaired ($5,000 Larry Streeter Scholarship)<br>
· Kaitlyn Kellermeyer,
TX: Government service or investing ($8,000 Oracle Excellence in STEM
Scholarship)<br>
· Miriam Lozneanu, SC:
Programmer<br>
· Nefertiti Matos, NY:
Helping/teaching profession<br>
· Sarah Meyer, IN: Mental
health counseling ($10,000 Charles and Melva T. Owen Scholarship)<br>
· Mark Myers II, MO:
Computer and software design/development<br>
· Crystal Plemmons, NC:
Community college instructor<br>
· Jason Polansky, MD:
Youth ministry, counseling, or civil engineering<br>
· Karolline Sales, LA:
Braille teacher ($5,000 National Federation of the Blind
Scholarship)<br>
· Kaitlin Shelton, OH:
Music therapy ($5,000 National Federation of the Blind Scholarship)<br>
· Christopher Stewart,
KY: Legal field<br>
· Teri Stroschein, OR:
School counselor ($3,000 Lillian S. Edelstein Scholarship for the
Blind)<br>
· Kelsi Watters, WI:
Spiritual counseling<br>
· Hannah Werbel, WA:
Biomedical engineering ($8,000 Oracle Computer Science Scholarship)<br>
· Tamika Williams, AL:
Blind services/entrepreneurship/social services ($3,000 Charles and Melva
T. Owen Scholarship)<br>
<br>
“The scholarship program is one of our most important initiatives,” said
Mark A. Riccobono, President of the
<a href="http://www.twitter.com/NFB_voice">National Federation of the
Blind</a>. “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.” <br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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<div align="center"><b>###<br>
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<br>
About the National Federation of the Blind<br>
</b> <br>
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.<br>
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