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USASA Foundation News by Pamela H. Sacks, Guest Editor
Winner Says USASF Scholarship “Helped Me A Lot” Applications for 2010 Now Being Accepted
When Maria Neff applied to college in the fall of 2007, she knew she faced not one challenge, but two: She had to get accepted to the best school possible while finding enough scholarship money to be able to pay the consid- erable cost of her studies.
Neff was at the top of her high school class in Greenville, Ohio, making her an easy choice for insti- tutions of higher education. The fierce competition for scholarships was another story, so Neff was thrilled to learn that she had won a $1,000 United States Australian Shepherd Foundation Junior Showmanship Scholarship.
Neff went on to Manchester College in Indiana, where she is now a sophomore with a 3.9 grade-point average, majoring in business management. Speaking by tele- phone recently from her dorm room, she recalled her reaction when her mother, Debbie Neff, told her that a representative of the Foundation had called to say she had won the Junior Showmanship Scholarship.
“My parents are blue-collar workers and they farm, and it has made it difficult to afford college,” said Neff, now 20. “The money had to come from academic or other scholarships. Tuition is high and any type of financial aid is always a gift. The USASF scholarship helped me a lot.“
Neff received the first scholarship awarded by the Foundation’s Junior Showmanship Scholarship Program, which started in 2008. She was an ideal candidate, hav- ing handled her Australian Shepherds at dog shows since she was nine years old. Kate Eldredge, also a longtime dog show competitor (and editor of the rally column in this publication), was awarded the Foundation’s 2009
scholarship. Today, Eldredge is a freshman at Cornell University.
Neff and Eldredge are two among a host of young peo- ple involved in junior showmanship and the Australian Shepherd breed. The Junior Showmanship Scholarship is one important way in which the Foundation is reach- ing out to support Australian Shepherd fanciers. The scholarship program, now in its third year, is currently accepting applications from those seeking assistance in continuing their education.
“I was honored to be the recipient of the first scholar- ship,“ Neff said.
The Junior Showmanship Scholarship application can be found on the Foundation’s Website, www.usas- foundation.org, under JR Scholarship. Applicants must use the official form; the completed application should be sent to Karen Godwin, USASF Secretary, 289 Aurora Circle, Memphis, TN 38111. Applications must be received by Godwin by January 1, 2010.
To qualify for the $1,000 scholarship, an applicant must:
• Be 16 to 21 years of age.
• Document plans to attend, or have proof of attend-
ing, a higher education institution of at least a six-
month formal program.
• Be a member in good standing of the USASA Junior
Program for a minimum of three years.
• Demonstrate academic achievement and potential. • Give evidence of interest and participation in
showing Australian Shepherds. The specific require- ments regarding participation can be found at the Foundation’s Website.
November/December 2009 The Australian Shepherd Journal 19