Each year the National Federation of the Blind of Kansas offers scholarships to the best and brightest blind students in the state. Scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic excellence, community service, and financial need. They are presented during our annual state convention. This year two $1,500 and one $2,500 will be awarded to academically meritorious blind college, vocational, or technical school students in Kansas! This year the convention will be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton 200 McDonald Dr, Lawrence, KS  66044 on November 1-3 2024.

In order to be eligible for a scholarship from the NFB of Kansas applicants must be:

• Legally blind in both eyes with best correction.
• A resident of Kansas or attending a Kansas school.
  •  Pursuing or planning to pursue a full-time post-secondary course of study in 2025 at a recognized college, university, or trade school. One of these scholarships may be given to a part time student who is employed.
• GPA 2.50 or greater.

HOW TO APPLY

In order to be considered for a scholarship from the NFB of Kansas, applicants must submit the following documents:

• •           A completed copy of this application. Answers to all questions are required. If the question does not apply to you, write N/A in the field.
• Proof of legal blindness. This can be supplied by a doctor or your vocational rehabilitation counselor.
• A current transcript. Electronic copies are preferred.
• An essay. If you are completing the online application form, please note that the form includes a space for you to write your essay. The essay should be no longer than 800 words. The topic for your personal essay is “You.” Keep in mind NFBKS Scholarship Committee members are all successful blind professionals and want to know what sets you apart from other applicants. Who are you? What are your outstanding qualities? How do you handle your blindness? What makes you unique and qualifies you for an NFBKS scholarship? 
• One letter of recommendation. The letter should be from someone who has knowledge of your academic skills, how you deal with your blindness in an academic or work setting, and your plans for the future. Letters from family members are not acceptable. Letters from mentors, teachers or professors, community service coordinators with whom you have worked, employers, and rehabilitation professionals are all acceptable. However, these are just examples of who you might ask to recommend you.
• Proof of acceptance. This requirement applies to incoming freshmen and first-term graduate students. Please submit a letter from at least one college, university or trade school showing that you have been accepted to their program.

SUBMISSION OF APPLICATION AND DOCUMENTS

First, complete this application online. At the end of the form, you will find a button to submit the information you have input. Once that is done, you will have completed the first phase of the application process. You will receive a copy of your completed application upon submission. Next, you should gather the other required documents and send them to us via email. Documents that you need to get from other people may be sent directly to the committee by those individuals. Please submit as much documentation as possible to scholarships@nfbks.org.

When submitting documents related to your application by email, please be sure to include your name and a description of the document you are submitting in the subject line. For example, a good subject line might say "John Doe Recommendation Letter" or "Jane Smith Proof of Blindness". Just replace the names listed here with your own name, and use the appropriate document name. Ask anyone who is sending documents on your behalf to use the same kind of subject line.

RE-APPLICATION

Students who have applied in the past are strongly encouraged to apply again.

INTERVIEW

Once we have received your documents, you must complete an interview with an NFB of KS designee. Contact Anna Fuller at (785)691-7454 NFB of KS scholarship Committee Chair, to make an appointment for this interview. The interview will take place after the deadline for submissions has passed.

DEADLINE

The deadline for submitting all documentation is September 30, 2024. Please encourage those who are recommending you and others who may need to submit information on your behalf to adhere to this deadline. The online application form will stop accepting applications at 11:59 PM CDT, on September 30, 2024 and any mailed applications should be postmarked no later than that date.

FINALISTS

The National Federation of the Blind of Kansas Scholarship Committee reviews all applications and selects the scholarship recipients.  All scholarship finalists will be notified of their selection by telephone no later than October 15th, 2024. Finalists must participate in the entire convention and in any scheduled scholarship program activities. All decisions made by the Scholarship Committee are final.