AFB Communication Arts & Storytelling Scholarship Application

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.

About the Scholarship

The AFB Communication Arts & Storytelling Scholarship aims to increase and support the number of blind undergraduate students pursuing careers in the Communication Arts, including communications, marketing, public relations, media studies, performing arts, entertainment, consumer behavior, business administration, and related fields. This scholarship is designed to:

  • Support blind students’ long-term career development in the Communication Arts during the scholarship period and beyond. 
  • Offer mentorship to address the unique barriers blind future professionals face, including accessible tools, inclusive design practices, and equitable career pathways.
  • Advance AFB’s mission by cultivating future leaders who can drive innovation in inclusion and equitable participation in communication-related fields, ultimately shaping a more positive national narrative on blindness and disability.

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; please see below for documentation requirements.
  • Age: Must be 18 years or older by September 1, 2026.
  • U.S. Citizenship: Applicants must be citizens of the United States.
  • Academic Enrollment: Applicants must be enrolled or planning to enroll as full-time students in a degree-seeking program at an accredited institution in the United States for the upcoming Fall semester.
  • Minimum GPA: Applicants must have a minimum cumulative 3.0 GPA (unweighted).

Undergraduate Students Attending Community College

  • Award Amount: $8,000 per academic year
  • Requirements: Must be pursuing an Associate’s Degree program or equivalent, and/or planning to transfer completed credits to a four-year institution towards a relevant Bachelor’s Degree program.

Undergraduate Students Attending a 4-Year College or University 

  • Award Amount: $20,000 per academic year
  • Requirements: Must be pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent.

Participation Benefits & Expectations

Scholarship awardees must maintain the following activities throughout the academic year of their award:

Mentorship Activities

Scholars are matched with a professional with lived experience in a related field, who will serve as a professional mentor. Scholars and their mentor will connect at least twice per semester (once per quarter). The goals of this mentorship are to provide professional and academic guidance, support and networking, support leadership development, and build connections within the Scholar’s field, within the blindness community, and deepen a connection to AFB’s mission. 

Professional Conference Participation

Scholars will attend one conference during the given scholarship year with their mentor or AFB staff. Options include the AFB Leadership Conference and other industry conferences from a list pre-selected by AFB. Every effort is made to identify an event that best suits the recipient’s schedule and interests. As part of this experience, scholars will:

  • Establish measurable participation goals for the chosen conference (with support from their mentor). 
  • Meet with attending AFB staff members.
  • Participate in at least one networking activity designed to enhance professional connections and community engagement.
  • Write a post-conference reflection evaluating their experience, how well they met their goals, and identifying follow-up activities with new connections or opportunities. 

Career Coaching

Scholars will receive 2 hours of career coaching each program year. This initiative strengthens the AFB Scholars program’s ability to support scholars at the critical transition point from education to employment. Through personalized coaching, scholars will develop stronger documents, improve interview performance and gain confidence for the application process. By investing in this approach, AFB deepens its commitment to building a pipeline of blind and low vision professionals who are prepared to enter the workforce. Over time, this work will contribute to increased representation of blind and low vision professionals across industries and leadership roles, reinforcing AFB’s mission to expand opportunities and drive systemic change. 

End of Year Impact Report 

At the end of the academic year, scholars must submit a written report identifying both the impact the AFB Scholarship had on their academic and professional development, and the impact they have had, or plan to have, on the STEM field and blindness community. This may include:

  • A summary of key coursework and projects completed during the year.
  • Reflections on skills gained and how they connect to future career goals.
  • Networking and contacts made through conference attendance, their mentor, or any participation in extracurricular activities.
  • Future academic or professional plans building on their year’s experiences. 

Award Renewal

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. Scholars are required to submit updated academic transcripts and proof of enrollment prior to each semester, and eligibility verification is conducted by AFB on an annual basis prior to each new academic year.

Application Requirements

Applications for the AFB Scholars Program consist of the following sections:

Demographic & Education Information

Basic details about you, your educational background, and your plans for the upcoming academic year, including:

  • Name, address, and contact information
  • Information about your current academic institution
  • Your plans for the upcoming academic year (Please note, if you will be a first-year student in your program during the upcoming academic year and have not yet committed to an institution, you will have the opportunity to explain your academic plans on the application form.)

Transcripts and Documentation

Each candidate must submit the required documentation outlined below with their online application. Applications with missing, incomplete, or illegible documentation will not be considered.

Academic Transcripts

Submit your most recent official or unofficial transcript from the academic institution you are attending at the time of your application (or attended most recently), in PDF format only.

  • The transcript must clearly show your first and last name, student ID number, and cumulative unweighted GPA. 
  • Official transcripts are not required; unofficial transcripts may be submitted as long as they contain all of the information outlined above and will not be assessed differently from official transcripts.
  • If your institution requires that transcripts be sent directly to AFB, please use our Programs email address, inclusivefuture@afb.org. Your transcript must be received by the application deadline for your application to be considered, no exceptions. 
  • If your institution does not calculate GPA on a 4.0 scale, you should note this on your application.

Official documentation verifying legal Blindness

Acceptable forms of documentation include but are not limited to the following: 

  • Certification from a qualified medical provider who is familiar with your medical/vision history (must be a signed letter on the provider’s letterhead) 
  • Vocational rehabilitation documentation (must be a signed letter on agency letterhead)
  • NLS registration
  • Equivalent documentation from a service or program for which certification of legal blindness was required.

Written Responses to Essay Questions

The application requires your thoughtful responses to questions about your educational and career goals, leadership experiences, challenges overcome, community service, and your ideas for the future. Please be mindful of the following when preparing your responses:

  • As you complete the essay questions, we encourage you to share your authentic voice and stories without the use of artificial intelligence. When reviewing application responses, we value well-written answers that share stories and specific examples. Answers that are broad and general don’t help us get to know you and will be scored less favorably. 
  • Suggested response length is 250-500 words per question. Please note, there is a 5000 character limit per question on the online application.
  • We strongly recommend you prepare your responses in advance to avoid the application session timing out during submission. The form does not automatically save your work, and your progress will be lost if you navigate away from the form before submitting the form on the final screen.

Communication Arts & Storytelling Scholarship Essay Questions

  1. What motivates you to pursue your current field of study? 
  2. Describe a specific challenge you have faced as a blind student and how you addressed it. 
  3. What do you hope to accomplish in your career in communications, media, or the arts, and how do you see it benefiting the blind community or advancing inclusion? 
  4. Describe a time when you took on a leadership role or worked collaboratively with a team. What did you learn about yourself and leadership from the experience? 
  5. Describe your community service or volunteer experiences. What impact did these experiences have on your community and on you? 
  6. Describe an academic or professional project, performance or competition you participated in and what essential skills you learned from it. 
  7. How will you use your career and work to influence the national narrative on blindness and disability? 
  8. Tell us how your studies, experiences, professional goals, etc. align with AFB’s mission, values, and/or strategic priorities. 
  9. How do you plan to use your education to influence or lead in your chosen field or within the blind community? 

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.

Selection Timeline

  • Applications Open: On or around Monday, November 16, 2026

  • Application Deadline: Tuesday, January 19, 2027 (11:59pm ET)

  • Interviews Scheduled & Conducted: March-April 2027

  • Selected Winners Notified: April-May 2027

  • New & Returning Scholar Orientation: June 2027

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.