NSCS Announces Finalists for National Grant Competition

Washington, DC, May 31, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Student awarded $1,000 grant for initial phase of service project; could receive $15,000 grant to further initiative.

The National Society of Collegiate Scholars is proud to announce the finalists of The Engaging Race, a $1,000 service initiative grant competition.

Lisa Benoit is a human resource management major at Kaplan University. Her project, Capabilities Day Habilitation Program, will focus on the development of health and life skills such as preparing healthy meals and exercise for mentally retarded and developmentally disabled individuals.

Ernesto Vivanco is an engineering major at Florida International University. His American Manual Alphabet (AMA) Glove is an electronic glove that will map out the gestures of hearing impaired and deaf individuals via stretch/flex and touch sensors and translate them into text.

Emily Johnson is a sociology major at Arizona State University. Her project, Warming Hearts, will provide homeless families, children and adults with tie-fleece blankets in the state of Minnesota.

The finalists will execute their programs over a 10-week period and maintain a blogs of their experiences pertaining to the project.

In July, the projects will be evaluated by an internal panel of judges at NSCS. The winner will receive a $15,000 grant to expand their program.

"All three service projects exemplify one of NSCS' most highly regarded ideals-service- and go to the heart of what this competition is all about," said Cynthia Uguru, Manager, Member Programs. "The $1,000 grant is just the first step toward fully realizing all three project's potential. We are very excited to see how the finalists develop their projects."

Follow the finalists as they develop their projects and blog aobut their progress. NSCS members will be able to vote for their favorite project on July 28. The finalist with the most votes will win the $15,000 grant.

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