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NFB scholarship winners line up in front of the convention to introduce themselves.

Scholarship Program

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The NFB of Virginia is pleased to announce the launch of its James F. Nelson merit scholarship program for the academic year 2024-2025. Up to three scholarships of $2500.00 will be awarded based on academic achievement, community engagement, and leadership potential.

The NFB of Virginia believes that all blind and visually impaired students who apply for a James F. Nelson scholarship can benefit from the experience of attending the state convention. The NFBV will cover reasonable costs associated with attending the convention for all eligible applicants, including a room at the hotel shared with a fellow scholarship applicant, most meals, and the cost of registration and a banquet ticket. Scholarship applicants should work with their local chapters to explore transportation options and should notify the scholarship committee if they encounter difficulties. Convention related expenses will be reimbursed or covered by the affiliate at the convention. Please notify the committee if you do not have access to a credit card or other means of covering pre-convention costs.Applicants are expected to pre-register in order to signal their intention to attend the state convention and to assist the scholarship committee to make hotel reservations.

The Scholarship Committee will review all applications and select the scholarship recipients. All decisions of the Scholarship Committee are final.

Please read all instructions carefully and pay close attention to the deadlines.

To be eligible to receive a James F. Nelson scholarship, all applicants must:

  • Be legally blind or have a visual impairment that qualifies them to receive services under IDEA or from a state vocational rehabilitation program.
  • Be a resident of the Commonwealth of Virginia or attending a Virginia accredited institution of higher education in-person.
  • Plan to pursue a full-time, postsecondary course of study in the 2024-2025 academic year; and
  • Participate in the entire NFB of Virginia state convention and in all scheduled scholarship program activities to be held on October 31st to November 3rd, 2024, in Portsmouth, Virginia.

Individuals who have already won two James F. Nelson scholarships should contact the scholarship committee chair before applying. The intention of the committee is to not award scholarships more than twice to the same individual except in extraordinary circumstances. Exceptions to this policy will only be made by decision of the committee chair and the NFBV affiliate president.

Deadline: Applications must be received no later than 11:59 pm Thursday, September 26th, 2024.

Applicants must submit at least one letter of recommendation from a teacher, professor, counselor, or academic advisor who is familiar with their scholarship. Applicants are encouraged to provide additional letters of recommendation or references from employers, individuals working in the applicant’s field of interest, or leaders from the blind movement or other groups engaged in social change advocacy. Letters of recommendation may be submitted in email form.

An electronic copy of the applicant’s transcripts must be provided in support of the application. Unofficial transcripts in PDF form from the accredited institution are acceptable.

APPLICATION

Please complete this application by entering your responses after each prompt. All applications must be received by 11:59 p.m. Thursday, September 26th, 2024. All supporting documents (i.e., letters of recommendation and transcripts) must be received by 11:59 p.m., September 26th, 2024.

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This could be in your community, school, place of worship, or as part of a social organization outside the home.
 
Please indicate whether one of the leaders of the Virginia state student division may contact you, and by what preferred means – email, phone, text.
Feel free to list any awards you have received, experiences that reflect who you are or anything else you think we might find of interest.
Attach any recommendation letters Here or email them to jimorris0116@gmail.com. File extensions may include Doc, Docx, or PDF and may not exceed 2 MB
One file only.
2 MB limit.
Allowed types: gif, jpg, jpeg, png, txt, rtf, pdf, doc, docx.
Attach any transcripts here or email them to jimorris0116@gmail.com. File extensions may include Doc, Docx, or PDF and may not exceed 2 MB
One file only.
2 MB limit.
Allowed types: gif, jpg, jpeg, png, txt, rtf, pdf, doc, docx.
By typing my full name and the date below, I confirm that all the information provided above and in related attachments is true and correct to the best of my knowledge.
 
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National Federation of the Blind of Virginia

For more information about the National Federation of the Blind of Virginia, please contact your closest chapter, or connect with our affiliate president:

Tracy Soforenko, President

Phone 202-285-4595  |  Email president@nfbv.org

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