RESTON, Va., Aug. 2, 2021— The National Court Reporters Association (NCRA), the country’s leading organization representing stenographic court reporters, captioners, and legal videographers, has announced that Eneida Mendez from Queens, N.Y., a student at Plaza College in Forest Hills, N.Y., 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.

Mendez, who is writing at 120 words per minute, expects to graduate in 2022 and has plans to work as a freelance court reporter upon graduation. She has small children and is looking forward to the flexibility of the job.

“I honestly did not know court reporting existed. I just so happened to have a bad day at work and started venting, but the moment I said, ‘I needed a career change,’ the news anchor on ABC7NY started talking about court reporting in a nearby school,” Mendez said.

“It was amazing! The following Monday, I called the school and by Thursday, I was registered to attend the A to Z program. Receiving this scholarship will help me financially this semester, and earning this scholarship means that anything is possible. This scholarship allows me to pursue a career that has endless possibilities,” 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.