Conference Scholarship Fund: Overcoming Obstacles and Challenges

 

 

Blog submitted by Diane Thomson, NAPO Scholarship Chair 

Are you hesitant to apply for a scholarship to attend NAPO’s annual conference, NAPO2018? Is it the process that feels daunting? Are you unsure whether or not you qualify? Are you a little embarrassed by having to ask for help? Or, do you just need a little incentive?

If you are like me, I imagine you have clients who run into similar challenges or roadblocks when doing new things. What would say to them? How would you encourage them to not let fears or limited thinking get in the way? Now it’s time to go to work for you.

You know how to break things down into steps and plan out tackling the steps a little at a time. The application deadline is November 30th, so now is the time to get started. Set out time to…

1. Review the requirements (on the POINT community home page, under Career Growth/ Scholarship Fund)
2. Decide who you will ask for your letters of recommendation
3. Ask them
4. Draft your essay outline, map out the important elements to explain your circumstances
5. Just start to type your thoughts
6. Edit or ask a friend to edit it for you
7. Fill out the application form
8. Submit

Unsure if you qualify?

The Barry Izsak | Glorya Schklair Conference Scholarship Fund was set up to provide support to members who are not able to attend conference due to extenuating circumstances. With all the recent terrible natural disasters, it is very likely there are NAPO members in need who may not have considered this opportunity before. Other circumstance may be (but are not limited to) illness, divorce, fire, financial hardship – these or any other reason that would make it hard to put aside the funds for conference. Of note; applicants must be NAPO members in good standing for a least one year from their application date.

Embarrassed to ask?

Applicants names are only known by the members of the Conference Scholarship Committee and the HQ liaison. Names are NOT made public, unless you give us your permission.  You do not need to come up on stage at the conference awards ceremony, unless you want to. In fact, I chose to keep the fact that I was a recipient of a scholarship the first year it was offered. Life circumstances had made it impossible for me to attend and I wanted to keep that private. Now I am ready to share it.

Another recipient however chooses to remain anonymous, but she is happy to share her experience:  “I was a little hesitant about applying for the scholarship. I wasn’t sure if I would qualify, but I knew that I really needed some help to be able to attend. I also felt a little embarrassed having to explain my circumstances, but I did feel a great sense of relief when I was awarded the scholarship. It was well worth the effort and I was able to attend a conference that has really helped me to grow my business in many ways. I highly recommend applying even if you feel the least bit of hesitancy.”

Need a little incentive to put forth the effort of applying?

For the first time, this year’s recipients will have their hotel and food covered in addition to the conference registration. What an opportunity! Recipients are only responsible for travel and any extra expenses.

If you have any questions, please contact the Scholarship Committee Chair, Diane Thomson at diane@thomsonblueprints.com.

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