Two priorities for the National Court Reporters Foundation are to nurture students and provide affirmation for newly minted court reporters. Fulfilling one of its priorities, NCRF announces the 2023 recipient for its New Professional Reporter Grant, Reanna Buzza of Natrona Heights, Pa. This year’s award is $2,000.
“It’s an honor for the Foundation to support Reanna as she begins her wonderful career in court reporting,” said Doug Friend, NCRF Chair, FAPR, RDR, CRR (Ret.). “Reanna’s perseverance in completing school while growing her family is to be admired. That perseverance will certainly serve her well as she moves forward.”
Donors to the Foundation can take great pride in helping this new reporter in her early practitioner years. “Thank you, NCRF, for awarding me the New Professional Reporter Grant!” said Buzza. “The money from this grant was the final amount I needed to buy a new Luminex II.”
In late January of 2022 as a 28-year-old mother of a toddler with another baby due in July, Buzza made a big career change – special education teacher to court reporter. She had earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in special education, and after working as a teacher for just eight months, was already burned out. She “stumbled upon court reporting” in a TikTok video and then enrolled at Community College of Allegheny County in January 2021.
In the fall of 2022, Buzza completed internships with the Pittsburgh Pirates at their stadium and with Network Deposition Services (NDS).
One requirement for this grant’s applicants was to write an essay on the question “What impact has the court reporting or captioning profession had on your life? Why are you passionate about your future as a court reporter or captioner?”
“Since starting employment with NDS this January,” wrote Buzza in her essay, “I have been able to spend more time with my daughter. Mid-May was the first time I spent the entire day away from her for a job since leaving teaching. When I had a family crisis, I was able to work completely remotely and travel to be exactly where my family needed me. I have been lucky enough to have a company that works my schedule around appointments and pays maternity leave no matter when employment starts.
“Every step of this journey, I have known that this was the right change in my life. It has brought me closer to my family by bringing me back to Pennsylvania. It has brought me closer to my daughter (and my daughter-on-the-way). It has given me more financial security. It has given me a supportive professional community. There are so many opportunities for success in this field, and I can’t wait to continue to grow and explore the profession,” she added.
More information about NCRF grants and scholarship can be found here.
