The National Court Reporters Foundation (NCRF) encourages recent graduates to apply for its New Professional Reporter Grant, which awards funds to help support new professionals working in any of three career paths: Judicial (official/freelance), CART, or captioning. Two awards will go to graduates who have completed a court reporting program within the past year, are in their first year of work, and meet specific criteria. Grants in the amount of $2,000 and $1,000 will be awarded.
Last year’s first-place grant was awarded to Bethany Morse, RSR, a freelancer in Mount Pleasant, S.C. The second-place grant was awarded to Claire Stein, RPR, an official in Madison, Wis.
Morse was able to use her grant to defray start-up costs in her new career. “The gap between graduating school and becoming a new working reporter is intimidating and costly,” Morse said, “but I’ve always seen it as an investment in a lifelong, beautiful career. Still, the knowledge that I was purchasing new equipment and supplies on credit after graduating from school contributed to the stress every new reporter faces; learning new software, adjusting to a new writer, starting a new job, all while knowing that your first paychecks will be going towards paying off debts required to start your new career,” she added.
Said Claire Stein of Madison, Wis., when she was selected: “I am honored to be selected as the second-place winner for this year’s New Professional Reporter Grant. Representing the next generation of court reporters makes me extremely proud, and I am committed to sustaining the integrity of our field throughout my career.”
Full criteria, an application, and past recipients can be found on the grant page. The application opens April 1 and closes June 2, 2023.
Two additional grants for new professionals who have passed their RSR or RPR, the Monyeen Black Memorial Grant and the Michelle Grimes Memorial Grant, open May 1.
For additional information about these and other grants, contact Jill Parker Landsman at jlandsman@ncra.org.
