Winners of the first NCRA A to Z™ Scholarships have been announced. The recipients are students who have completed an NCRA A to Z ™ Intro to Steno Machine Shorthand program and are enrolled in a court reporting program. Scholarships in the amount of $500 have been awarded to the following students:
- Stacie Cain, a student at the College of Court Reporting in Valparaiso, Ind.;
- Tonya L. Cross-Casado of San Antonio College in San Antonio, Texas;
- Jennie Dunlap, a student at Hardeman School of Court Reporting and Captioning in Tampa, Fla.;
- Camryn Dunne, a student at Des Moines Area Community College in Newton, Iowa.;
- Alicia Floerchinger, a student at Alfred State College in Alfred, N.Y. “I took the NCRA A-Z program in hopes to get a feel for the machine before starting school. Not only was I able to experience that, but the A-Z program taught me key combinations, along with how to write the alphabet on the steno machine. Having this knowledge made me feel confident in my first semester of court reporting. The A-Z program was the greatest opportunity I had before pursuing my career in court reporting.”
- Marie Forman, a student at Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. “After years of working retail, I wanted a change, but wasn’t sure what career would be right for me. At the NAIT open house, I was intrigued by captioning and court reporting, but still knew very little about them. It was the NCRA A to Z program that really got me interested in pursuing stenography further, and it also helped me keep up with the first few weeks of a very fast-paced college course.”
- Jennifer Gale, a student at Community College of Allegheny County, Pittsburgh, Pa.;
- Jana Oelbaum, a student at Long Island Business Institute, Commack, N.Y. “I can’t speak highly enough about the NCRA A to Z program, and I recommend it to anyone who is curious about the court reporting profession. Not only was the material presented in clear and organized lessons, but we also got to hear from working professionals and ask questions of them during live web seminars. I am certain that my participation and completion of this course put me at a great advantage once I enrolled in my first theory class at school. I was already familiar with the steno machine, the steno alphabet, and how to write basic words which those letters and keystrokes make.”;
- Diego Ramirez, a student at San Antonio College, San Antonio, Texas. “The A-Z Program was a wonderful introduction into the professional world of court reporting for me.”; and
- Karlye Walton, a student at Des Moines Community College, Newton, Iowa. “Nothing could have prepared me or helped solidify my decision more than participating in the A to Z program. I strongly encourage anybody interested in this career path to participate in this class beforehand!”
To be eligible to apply for the NCRA A to Z™ Scholarship, students must meet the criteria below:
- Have completed an NCRA A to Z™ Intro to Steno Machine Shorthand program;
- Have received an NCRA A to Z™ Certificate of Completion;
- Have attained an exemplary academic record;
- Have passed one skills test writing 60-100 words per minute at the time of submission.
For more information on the NCRA A to Z™ Scholarship, please contact the Education Department at schools@ncra.org.
