May 25, 2009
National MS Society honors Minot, ND Graduate with Scholarship
National MS Society Honors Minot Graduate with Scholarship
Fargo, North Dakota – The North Central States Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society is proud to announce that Jacqueline Faith Blackburn, graduate of Minot High School, has been awarded a scholarship for her first year of college at Minot State University- Bottineau in Bottineau, North Dakota. Jacqueline’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.
Jacqueline’s mother, Jacqueline J., was diagnosed with MS in June of 2006 and Jacqueline says, “(when) my mother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis my life changed forever. As the daughter of a MS victim, I struggle emotionally, mentally and physically watching my mother cope with the ever present symptoms of her disease.” Jacqueline says she helps around the house by doing chores like laundry and vacuuming but this is hard because she also goes to school and works a part time job.
Jacqueline will begin classes at Minot State University – Bottineau this fall and she plans on studying Caregiver Services – Child Services and achieving her Associates Degree. During her years at Minot High School, Jacqueline participated in many activities including Key Club for one year; 4-H for five years with an award of Grand Champion; youth bowling league for three years on the first place team; and as a volunteer on the Minot Air Force Base for six years. In addition to the in-school activities, Jacqueline was employed at Taco Bell for two years and is currently employed at the Market Place Foods as a Courtesy Clerk.
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.