Since 2020, School Counselors of NEPA has offered a First Timer’s Scholarship to defray expenses incurred for a member of the organization to attend the PSCA Annual Conference for the first time or the first time in a long time as a Professional or Student Member. The scholarship is used to pay for the registration fee only as outlined on the PSCA's website, specifically, the Regular Rate of a PSCA member.
2024-2025: Sarah Redick | School Counselor, Forest City Regional Elementary School
2023-2024: Heidi Ballard | School Counselor, Mid Valley Elementary Center
2022-2023: Not Awarded
2021-2022: Jillian Paulus | Graduate Student, The University of Scranton & Shelby Valvano | Graduate Student, The University of Scranton (a second scholarship was generously sponsored by Neumann University's Admissions Department)
2020-2021: Nicole Walsh | School Counselor, Career Technology Center of Lackawanna County
2019-2020: Alita Soulsby | School Counselor, Riverside Elementary School
"Almost all of the sessions I chose enhanced my knowledge and understanding of the field of school counseling, encouraged me to consider the type of school counselor I want to be, and inspired me to be more active in professional organizations, both locally and nationally. Not only have I gained valuable resources and connections from this conference, but I also have started to develop my own professional identity. This conference has urged me to think about how I understand myself as a mental health professional and how I would advocate for this role."
-Jillian Paulus, University of Scranton Graduate Student
"Three sessions I took the most from were, LGBTQ+ Resources & Creating Safe Spaces, Using Social Media to Promote your School Counseling Program & Connect with Stakeholders, and Increasing Our Mental Health Literacy-Words & Relationships Matter. As I was in the midst of finishing my internship and preparing myself for my new role as a high school counselor, these three sessions provided me resources and direction in a gap that I felt needed to be closed. These three sessions also provided a new awareness for me on how to get creative with communication and how to find resources more independently."
-Shelby Valvano, The University of Scranton Graduate Student
How To Apply For The Scholarship
This year, PSCA will be hosting their 70th annual conference at The Penn Stater Hotel and Convention Center from December 4-5, 2025. For more information regarding our first timer's scholarship please see our flyer for all the details on how to apply.
Applications are due October 24, 2025
Winner will be notified via email by October 31, 2025
Winner will be announced November 3, 2025