National Federation of the Blind Texas Scholarship

Each year the National Federation of the Blind of Texas offers scholarships to the best and brightest blind students in the state. The scholarships are awarded during our annual convention. This year the convention will be held on the weekend of October 31-November 2, 2025. The site for this year's convention is the DoubleTree by Hilton Houston Hobby Airport. Attendance, at our expense, is mandatory for all finalists. Finalists should plan to arrive at the hotel no later than 4:00 PM, on October 31, and should plan to leave the hotel no earlier than noon on November 2.

ELIGIBILITY - The following requirements apply to all applicants:

• Must be legally blind in both eyes.
• Must be a resident of Texas. Texas residency means that you must be living in Texas at the time of application.
• Must be pursuing or planning to pursue a full-time, post-secondary course of study at a U. S. institution of higher education in the fall of the application year. Members of the National Federation of the Blind of Texas value both work and education. Therefore, the committee may, at its discretion, grant one scholarship to a student who attends school part-time while working full-time. It may also consider students who are attending a trade or technical school on a full-time basis.
• Must attend the entire convention of the National Federation of the Blind of Texas.

ABOUT THE SCHOLARSHIPS - In 2025 the National Federation of the Blind of Texas will award four(4) scholarships. They are:

NFBTX MERIT SCHOLARSHIP - one (1) scholarship in the amount of $2,000.00. This scholarship is funded through public donations. No additional restrictions apply to this scholarship.

NFBTX CHAPTER SCHOLARSHIP - one (1) scholarship in the amount of $2,000.00. This scholarship is funded through generous donations from chapters of the National Federation of the Blind of Texas. No additional restrictions apply to this scholarship.

NFBTX MEMBERS SCHOLARSHIP - one (1) scholarship in the amount of $2,000. This scholarship is granted by the members of the National Federation of the Blind of Texas. No additional restrictions apply.

HARLEY FETTERMAN MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP - one (1) scholarship in the amount of $3,000. This scholarship is funded by our members, public donations, and generous support from Harley's Wallet, a nonprofit founded by Harley's family. The scholarship is named in honor of Harley Fetterman, a Federationist who lost his battle with cancer, in 2016, at the age of eighteen. Although Harley was only with us for a short time, his contributions to the blindness community were immeasurable. No additional restrictions apply to this scholarship.

CRITERIA 

Scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic excellence and community service. The National Federation of the Blind of Texas is dedicated to providing opportunities to all blind people. Therefore, membership in the organization is not a requirement.

HOW TO APPLY - In order to be considered for a scholarship from the NFB of Texas, applicants must submit the following documents:

1. a completed copy of this application. Answers to all questions are required. If the question does not apply to you, write N/A in the field.
2. proof of legal blindness. This can be supplied by a doctor or your vocational rehabilitation counselor. Legal blindness is defined as an acuity of 20/200 in the better eye with best correction or a field loss such that you have 20 degrees field of view or less in the better eye. Blindness or vision loss in one eye does not meet the legal definition of blindness. Applicants must be at least legally blind in both eyes.
3. a current transcript. Electronic copies are preferred.
4. an essay. If you are completing the online application form, please note that the form includes a space for you to write your essay. The essay should be no longer than 700 words and should provide the committee with more information about you, skills you use in school and in everyday life, and any other details that you believe will help the committee make an informed decision about your application. What makes you, you?
5. one letter of recommendation. The letter should be from someone who has knowledge of your academic skills, how you manage as a blind person in an academic or work setting, and your plans for the future. Letters from family members are not acceptable. Letters from mentors, teachers or professors, community service coordinators with whom you have worked, employers, and rehabilitation professionals are all acceptable. However, these are just examples of who you might ask to recommend you.
6. proof of acceptance. This requirement applies to incoming freshmen or those entering a graduate program. Please submit a letter from at least one college or university showing that you have been accepted to their program.

We prefer that all documents be submitted in electronic format; however, we recognize that some students may not be able to submit their documentation using this method. If that is the case, please contact us for a printed copy of the application and instructions. You may obtain a copy of the application by calling our office at (281) 968-7733 during regular business hours.

SUBMISSION OF APPLICATION AND DOCUMENTS

First, complete this application online. At the end of the form, you will find a button to submit the information you have input. Once that is done, you will have completed the first phase of the application process. You will receive a copy of your completed application upon submission. Next, you should gather the other required documents and send them to us via email. Documents that you need to get from other people may be sent directly to the committee by those individuals. You and those people should submit as much documentation as possible to scholarships@nfbtx.org.

When submitting documents related to your application by email, please be sure to include your name and the name of the document you are submitting in the subject line. For example, a good subject line might say "john Doe Recommendation Letter" or "Jane Smith Proof of Blindness". Just replace the names listed here with your own name and use the appropriate document name. Ask anyone who is sending documents on your behalf to use the same kind of subject line.