May 25, 2009
National MS Society honors West Des Moines, IA Graduate with Scholarship
The National MS Society Honors West Des Moines Graduate with Scholarship
Clive, Iowa – The North Central States Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society is proud to announce that Brittany Blackburn, Iowa Christian Academy graduate of West Des Moines, Iowa has been awarded a scholarship for her first year of college at the Des Moines Area Community College in Ankeny, Iowa. Brittany’s application stood out among many in the three-state chapter as she was one of two applicants who received a scholarship from a pool of over 25 applicants. The National MS Society offers scholarships each year to high school seniors who either live with multiple sclerosis or have a parent who has been diagnosed.
Brittany’s father, Harry, was diagnosed with MS and Brittany says, “My life was/is always affected by multiple sclerosis. I’ve known no other way to live and it is tough to see any other way, either.” Brittany says that the unpredictability of this disease has also affected her mother and her older brother and sister in many ways.
Brittany will begin classes at the Des Moines Area Community College this fall and then she plans to transfer to the University of Iowa, in Iowa City to complete a Bachelor’s of Art Degree in Accounting. During her four years at Iowa Christian Academy, Brittany participated in many activities including Track and Field for all four years; the National Honor Society for two years; and Iowa Girls State for one year. In addition to the in-school activities, Brittany has been employed as a church nursery worker for two years; she has de-tasseled corn for the past two summers; she has been a babysitter for the past three years; and she is currently working at the local bakery.
About Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis interrupts the flow of information from the brain to the body and stops people from moving. Every hour in the United States, someone is newly diagnosed with MS, an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted, but advances in research and treatment are moving us closer to a world free of MS. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with more than twice as many women as men contracting the disease. MS affects more than 400,000 people in the U.S., and 2.5 million worldwide.
About the National Multiple Sclerosis Society
MS stops people from moving. The National MS Society exists to make sure it doesn’t. We do this through our home office and 50-state network of chapters by funding more MS research, providing more services to people with MS, offering more professional education and furthering more advocacy efforts than any other MS organization in the world. The Society is dedicated to achieving a world free of MS. We are people who want to do something about MS, now. Join the movement at nationalMSsociety.org. Studies show that early and ongoing treatment with an FDA-approved therapy can reduce future disease activity and improve quality of life for people with Multiple Sclerosis. Talk to your health care professional and contact the National MS Society at www.nationalMSsociety.org or 1-800-344-4867 to learn about ways to help people with multiple sclerosis and about current research that one day reveal a cure.
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