2004 NFB Scholarship Winners on the Move

2004 NFB Scholarship Winners on the Move

Braille Monitor

November

2004

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2004 NFB Scholarship

Winners on the Move

From the Editor: As

you will discover elsewhere in this issue it is time again to spread the word

about the NFB scholarship program, far and away the most valuable collection

of scholarships available to blind postsecondary students in the United States.

I recently received a brief report on two of the 2004 winners. It came from

Peggy Elliott, president of the NFB of Iowa and chairman of the NFB Scholarship

Committee. Her report to affiliate members and the newspaper article that follows

demonstrate the value of this program. This is what Peggy says:

Darrel Kirby and Kallie

Smith won NFB scholarships this year. Each received a warm and very personal--as

in, not a form letter--note from Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack. Kallie has now embarked

on her college career, moving into her dorm room at the University of Northern

Iowa and starting that great adventure. Darrel is likewise starting a new chapter,

taking up both graduate school and the presidency of the Old Capitol Chapter.

Here

is an article about Darrel, published in the Sunday, August 15, edition of the

Iowa City Press‑Citizen. Many old Federation hands know how hard

it is to get a reporter to use the name of the Federation at all, let alone

get the name and concept right. Darrel has done all that admirably. This turns

out to be a big year for Darrel, who in addition to the NFB scholarship has

also been awarded a Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic scholarship, a Robert

D. Blue Scholarship from Governor Vilsack, and a scholarship from the University

of Iowa. Four in one summer; way to go, Darrel! Here's the article:

Man Gives

Back to Blind Community

by Alondra Canizal

Two and a half years ago

Darrel Kirby was considered legally blind. His vision had started diminishing

less than a year before that, causing him to be depressed and unhappy with himself.

While riding a bus, Kirby, now twenty-three, met Priscilla McKinley, who had

gone through the same thing. She introduced him to local blind people, and today

he said he is a perfect example of what a positive attitude, determination,

and friends can help accomplish.

.Darrel

Kirby

Kirby graduated from the

University of Iowa in December with a bachelor's in psychology, and this year

he will be working toward his master's degree in social work, something he never

imagined possible. He withdrew from the university for one semester after losing

his sight.

"When

I first became blind, I became depressed," Kirby said. "That was the

hardest time in my entire life."

When

McKinley introduced Kirby to Old Capitol, the local chapter of the National

Federation of the Blind, he met people who taught him that being blind did not

mean losing the life he had before, Kirby said.

"We

know that blindness doesn't have to be the end of life," McKinley said.

"It showed me that blind people were normal individuals; they just happened

to be blind."

Kirby

dove into the organization full force, becoming a member in February 2003 and

being named president this May. He also is president of the Iowa Association

of Blind Students.

His

dedication to the organization did not go unnoticed at the annual NFB banquet

in July in Atlanta. Kirby was awarded the $12,000 Kenneth Jernigan Memorial

Scholarship for excellence in scholarship, leadership, and service to his community.

"It

was quite an honor. I was completely surprised," Kirby said. "It's

probably the greatest honor that I could have been given." He was chosen

from a field of more than 500 blind applicants nationwide.

Kirby

says he's a perfect example of what kind of an effect the organization can have.

He has spoken at area elementary schools and at a couple of UI [University of

Iowa] classes to educate about blindness. "If I get the chance to educate

people about blindness, I usually jump at the chance," Kirby said.

This

summer he was a counselor for blind high school students at the Iowa Department

for the Blind's Orientation and Adjustment Center, the same place he found himself

one year ago as a student. "A lot of them hadn't accepted the idea that

they were blind," Kirby said.

Last

summer Kirby was a part of the adult classes being offered at the center. In

two-and-a-half months he learned Braille, assistance [access] computer technology,

and cooking, and he also took a wood shop class that helped him build confidence.

This

summer he said he saw himself in a lot of the teenagers that he was counseling.

"I didn't know you could go to college and be successful," Kirby said.

"Now I don't let (being blind) slow me down," Kirby said.

Most recently Kirby was

one of thirty recipients of the Robert D. Blue Scholarship, which awarded him

$1,000 and the opportunity to have dinner with Governor Tom Vilsack. He will

be using his scholarship money to pay off his school loans. "We're all

very proud of Darrel; he's a great kid," McKinley said. "He's like

a second son to me, but I get mad when he calls me Mom."

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