RESTON, Va., Aug. 1, 2021— The National Court Reporters Association (NCRA), the country’s leading organization representing stenographic court reporters, captioners, and legal videographers, has announced that Mary Lancaster from Norman, Okla., a student at Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma City, has been awarded a $500 NCRA A to Z® Scholarship. The scholarships are supported by funds from the National Court Reporters Foundation (NCRF), the philanthropic arm of NCRA.

Lancaster, who is currently writing at 100 words per minute, expects to graduate within the next six-to-eight months, and noted that court reporting is a second career for her.

“I originally heard about the profession when I graduated from high school more than 30 years ago. I was enrolled in a court reporting program for a year and a half after high school. My education was cut short by some unexpected life events,” Lancaster said.

“In 2019, my husband and I were discussing some job options I might want to pursue after I ‘retire’ from the educational field. He is in the media field, and we both thought captioning would be something I might enjoy. When researching the captioning profession, I was surprised to discover that captioners are court reporters,” she added.

Lancaster said she recognizes that it is challenging to be a court reporting student given the great deal of time, work, dedication, and determination needed.

“It is even more of a challenge when you are working full time and have other responsibilities, such as taking care of a family. This scholarship will help pay for some of my tuition. Every bit of help with tuition helps to decrease the stress of being a student,” she said.

“I am honored to be chosen as one of the 2021 NCRA A to Z Scholarship winners. It is a privilege to be recognized with a national scholarship,” she added.

To be eligible for the NCRA A to Z Scholarship, students must meet the requirements listed below and submit an application.

• 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 about the NCRA A to Z Scholarship, or the NCRA A to Z Intro to Steno Machine Shorthand program, please contact the Education Department at schools@ncra.org.

NCRF is currently accepting donations to meet its 2021-2022 goal of $5,000 to fund an additional 10 scholarships. To donate to the A2Zfund, text the keyword A2ZFUND to 41444 with this message: A2ZFUND $Amount Name and Message.