The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) is proud to support the educational and career aspirations of blind students.

Through the generosity of the Lulu J. Alonso Scholarship Fund, the AFB Scholars Program is designed to provide financial assistance, celebrate academic and personal achievements, and empower recipients to contribute meaningfully to their communities and the broader blindness community.

AFB aims to elevate students with exceptional potential, foster future leaders, and build a network of individuals dedicated to creating a more inclusive world. We believe in your ability to make a difference.

The AFB Aging & Vision Loss Scholarship aims to increase and support the number of blind and low vision students entering the field of aging services, leadership, and research with a focus on vision loss. This scholarship is designed to:

  • Support blind students’ long-term career development in gerontology or related fields that address the needs of older adults with vision loss during the scholarship period and beyond.
  • Offer mentorship to connect students with leaders and professionals working at the intersection of aging and vision loss, helping to cultivate the next generation of experts, advocates, and service providers.

Eligibility Requirements

To be considered for an AFB scholarship, applicants must meet the following criteria:

  • Legal Blindness: All applicants must be legally blind. Legal blindness is defined as an individual who cannot see better than 20/200 with correction or whose visual field in the best eye is 20 degrees or less at the widest diameter with correction. Applicants must provide official documentation verifying their legal blindness status, including but not limited to medical records, vocational rehabilitation documentation (on letterhead), NLS registration, etc.
  • Age: Must be 18 years or older by the start of the upcoming Fall semester.
  • Academic Enrollment: Applicants must be enrolled or planning to enroll as full-time students in a degree-seeking program at an accredited institution for the upcoming Fall semester.
  • Academic Level:
    • Undergraduate students majoring in Gerontology or Aging Studies
      • Undergraduate Award - $20,000 per academic year
    • Graduate Students
      • Pursuing a Master’s degree in Gerontology
      • Pursuing a graduate degree in Public Health, Social Work, Psychology or Vision Rehabilitation (O&M, VRT, Low Vision, Rehab Counseling), and:
        • Currently completing or enrolled in a graduate certificate in Gerontology (minimum 15 credit hours), or
        • Hold an undergraduate degree in Gerontology or Aging Studies
      • Graduate Award - $28,000 per academic year
  • U.S. Citizenship: Applicants must be citizens of the United States.
  • Minimum GPA: Applicants must have a minimum cumulative 3.0 GPA (unweighted).

Upon receipt of the scholarship, awardees must maintain the following activities:

  • Mentorship Activities: Scholarship recipients must engage in mentorship activities with a blind or low vision AFB leader who specializes in aging and vision loss, completing one activity per quarter (or two activities per semester) during the academic year.
  • Conference Participation: Scholarship recipients must attend one pre-approved conference with an AFB leader during the scholarship year, gaining professional and networking experience aligned with their career goals.
  • Annual Progress Report: At the end of the academic year, scholars must submit a written progress report outlining their academic and professional development in areas related to aging and vision loss, including a summary of relevant coursework or projects completed contributing to their understanding of aging or services for older adults, particularly those experiencing vision loss; reflections on skills gained and how these experiences connect to their future career goals; any participation in extracurricular activities related to aging and/or vision loss; future academic or professional plans building on their year’s experiences.

Scholars are eligible to renew the scholarship for the next academic year as long as they continue to meet all eligibility requirements and effectively met all required expectations during the previous year.

Application Requirements

Your application will consist of the following:

  • Demographic Information: Basic details about you, your educational background, and your plans for the upcoming academic year.
  • Transcripts and Documentation:
    1. Most recent academic transcript
    2. Official documentation verifying legal blindness (ex. medical records, vocational rehabilitation documentation (on letterhead), NLS registration, etc.)
    3. Acceptance letter (if applicable)
  • Written Responses: Thoughtful responses to questions about your educational and career goals, leadership experiences, challenges overcome, community service, and your ideas for the future. (Suggested response length is 250-500 words per question. Please note, there is a 5000 character limit per question on the online application.)
    1. What motivates you to pursue your current field of study (e.g. Gerontology, Vision Rehabilitation, or a related discipline)?
    2. What is a skill or area of knowledge you are currently working to improve? How does it relate to your academic or professional work with aging populations?
    3. Describe your past academic, professional, volunteer, or personal experiences working with older adults. What did you learn from these experiences?
    4. How do you hope your studies and future career will contribute to advancing the field of aging and vision loss, and how do you see this work benefiting the blind community and broader society? *What gaps or challenges in aging services (particularly those impacting older adults with vision loss) do you hope to address through your education and career?
    5. What gaps or challenges in aging services (particularly those impacting older adults with vision loss) do you hope to address through your education and career?
    6. How do you believe your studies, experiences, and professional goals align with AFB’s mission, values, and/or strategic priorities?
    7. Share a specific challenge you faced as a blind or low vision individual in your education, and how you overcame it.
    8. Describe a time when you took on a leadership role or worked collaboratively with a team. What did you learn from the experience?
    9. How do you plan to use your education and research experience to influence or lead in your chosen field?

Note: We recommend that you prepare your responses in advance to avoid the application session timing out during submission.

Selection Process

The selection committee will evaluate applications based on academic achievement, leadership potential, personal growth, and alignment with AFB’s mission. Shortlisted applications will be invited for a 1-hour interview with the committee to further discuss their aspirations and qualifications.

Need Assistance

If you have any questions about the application process, you may contact us at inclusivefuture@afb.org or by sending a message via our web contact form.

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