Baltimore, Maryland (August 12, 2015): The National Federation of the Blind (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.

• Katie Adkins, KY: Teacher
• Douglas Alt, MI: College professor
• Karen Arcos, CA: Policy advocacy
• Annika Ariel, CA: Disability law
• Liliya Asadullina, PA: Naturopathic doctor
• Michael Ausbun, NV: Foundational professor
• Mary Church, CA: Psychology
• Chase Crispin, NE: Public school band director ($5,000 National Federation of the Blind Scholarship)
• MarChé Daughtry, VA: Law ($3,000 Adrienne Asch Scholarship)
• Bryan Duarte, AZ: Software engineer
• Alexandra Engraf, ND: Human services, counseling
• Lashawna Fant, MS: Counselor ($3,000 E.U. and Gene Parker Scholarship)
• Robert Gulledge, AL: Secondary education
• Dezman Jackson, MD: Health education ($3,000 Pearson Scholarship)
• Mary Abby Jusayan, RI: Teacher of the visually impaired ($5,000 Larry Streeter Scholarship)
• Kaitlyn Kellermeyer, TX: Government service or investing ($8,000 Oracle Excellence in STEM Scholarship)
• Miriam Lozneanu, SC: Programmer
• Nefertiti Matos, NY: Helping/teaching profession
• Sarah Meyer, IN: Mental health counseling ($10,000 Charles and Melva T. Owen Scholarship)
• Mark Myers II, MO: Computer and software design/development
• Crystal Plemmons, NC: Community college instructor
• Jason Polansky, MD: Youth ministry, counseling, or civil engineering
• Karolline Sales, LA: Braille teacher ($5,000 National Federation of the Blind Scholarship)
• Kaitlin Shelton, OH: Music therapy ($5,000 National Federation of the Blind Scholarship)
• Christopher Stewart, KY: Legal field
• Teri Stroschein, OR: School counselor ($3,000 Lillian S. Edelstein Scholarship for the Blind)
• Kelsi Watters, WI: Spiritual counseling
• Hannah Werbel, WA: Biomedical engineering ($8,000 Oracle Computer Science Scholarship)
• Tamika Williams, AL: Blind services/entrepreneurship/social services ($3,000 Charles and Melva T. Owen Scholarship)

“The scholarship program is one of our most important initiatives,” said Mark A. Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind. “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.” 

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.

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.