by Michael Garrett
Well, we've come to the end of another cycle for selecting the ACB scholarship winners for the 2013-2014 school year. It's always a very difficult process to comb through the applications and supporting documents to select our winners, but this group of deserving students was well worth the effort. Scholarships ranged from $1,000 to $3,000.
This year's winners included:
Hannah Chadwick, California – the Duane Buckley Memorial Scholarship
Nicholas Corbett, Massachusetts – the Bay State Council of the Blind Scholarship
Derek Riemer, Colorado – the Kellie Cannon Memorial Scholarship
Brooke Jostad, Colorado – the Eunice Fiorito Memorial Scholarship
Kathryn Webster, Connecticut – the James R. Olsen Memorial Scholarship
Samantha Stoner, Ohio – the Arnold Sadler Memorial Scholarship
Leslie Weilbacher, Oregon – the ACB of Oregon Scholarship
Nathan Kottler, Pennsylvania – the William G. Corey Scholarship
Alexander Follo, Florida – the Ross and Patricia Pangere Scholarship
Kalyn Kasun, Kentucky – the Ross and Patricia Pangere Scholarship
Tara Annis, West Virginia – the Floyd Qualls Memorial Scholarship
Ian Kloen, Wisconsin – the Floyd Qualls Memorial Scholarship
Caitlin Hoover, Washington – the Floyd Qualls Memorial Scholarship
Dornetta McConnell, South Carolina – the Floyd Qualls Memorial Scholarship
Joshua Pearson, Massachusetts – the Floyd Qualls Memorial Scholarship
This was a particularly good group of students. They were fun to work with, and they were very supportive and encouraging to each other. Special thanks to the ACB Students for mentoring them and getting them involved in the conference/convention activities. In fact, Joshua Pearson is now ACBS president. Another student, who had planned to leave early, lengthened his stay and several others stated that they plan to attend next year's conference. Much appreciation goes to the Minneapolis staff and the scholarship committee for completing the process. We also thank the donors for making these awards possible.
Congratulations to the students. May you find peace, power and productivity as you pursue your academic and occupational goals during the upcoming school year.
Scholarship applications for the 2014-2015 school year will be online beginning Dec. 1. If you know of someone, or believe you qualify, we encourage you to submit an application.
Caption: The scholarship winners and committee members took a moment for a group photo after receiving their awards. Top row, left to right: Don Koors, Connor Boss, Bianca Knight, Michael Gravitt, Alex Follo, Derek Riemer, Nathan Kottler, Michael Garrett, Nicholas Corbett, Joshua Pearson, and Ian Kloen. Bottom row, left to right: Sharon Strzalkowski, Hannah Chadwick, Kathryn Webster, Brooke Jostad, Dornetta McConnell, Mitch Pomerantz, Tara Annis, Leslie Weilbacher, Kalyn Kasun, and Sara Conrad.