NCSPRA Scholarships
NCSPRA Scholarships
The North Carolina School Public Relations Association (NCSPRA) is pleased to support professional development opportunities for its members by offering two scholarships.
• Nora Carr Memorial Presidential Scholarship
This scholarship provides membership in the National School Public Relations Association and is available to NCSPRA members who are not currently members of NSPRA and who have not held an NSPRA membership for at least the past three years. Nora Carr died unexpectedly in June of 2022 and was a giant in the field of public relations. She was a long-time NCSPRA member and served as President of the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA). Carr was a strong proponent of the value that NSPRA provides to its members, and this scholarship honors her legacy by providing a scholarship that pays for selected NCSPRA members to join the National School Public Relations Association. The application window for the 2025 Nora Carr Memorial Presidential Scholarship will open in December 2024.
The Bonnie Reidy Mentor Legacy Scholarship provides a paid registration for the bi-annual NCSPRA / SC-NSPRA Fall Conference that is held in North Carolina every two years. The scholarship is available to current NCSPRA members who have three or fewer years of experience in the field of School Public Relations. It is named in honor of Bonnie Reidy, a former NCSPRA president who served Gaston County Schools as Chief Communications Officer before retiring in 2013. The next Bonnie Reidy Scholarship will be available prior to the 2024 NCSPRA/SC-NSPRA Fall Conference, which will be held in Asheville, NC on November 13-15, 2024.
• Our Scholarship RecipientsBonnie Reidy Mentor Legacy Scholarship2024 Tony Cunningham, Durham Public Schools & Farida Qalandri, Wake County Public School System2023 Natasha Eckerd, Hickory City Schools & Kim Jordan, Catawba County Schools2022 Karen Dellinger, Lincoln County Schools & Denita Dowell-Reavis, Alexander County Schools2019 Tracy Scruggs, Person County Schools
2018 No scholarship awarded
2017 Lisa Lane, Perquimans County Schools2016 Faith Jackson, Clinton City Schools2015 Lori Carlin, Chatham County SchoolsNora Carr Presidential Scholarship2024: Kate Kosolapova, Pitt County Schools; Amanda Clark, Roanoke Rapids Graded School District; Mikayla Smith, Asheboro City Schools2023: Aarika Sandlin, Vance County Schools & Eddie Perez, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools2019 Leigh Anna Marbert, Asheboro City Schools
2018 Becky Swiger, Union County Public Schools
2017 Valerie Newton, Bladen County Schools2016 Tahira Stalberte, Union County Public Schools2015 Patricia Harmon-Lewis, Harnett County Schools