Rosalie Stevens Student Scholarship Award

2013 Student Scholarship Winner Michelle Harper 

The Student Scholarship Committee of the Ohio Court Reporters Association is pleased to announce that Michelle Harper is the recipient of the 2013 Rosalie Stevens Student Scholarship Award. 

The OCRA Student Scholarship Award was established in 1997 as an incentive toward scholastic achievement and future professional development. In 2004, it was renamed the Rosalie Stevens Student Scholarship Award in remembrance of Rosalie's unfailing dedication to our association, profession and our students. Rosalie served as a president to both Ohio Court Reporters Association and the National Court Reporters Association. 

Along with the $500 scholarship, Michelle received free conference registration and a one-year complimentary membership to OCRA. 

Michelle is a student at Cuyahoga Community College currently working toward 160wpm QA, 140wpm JC, and 120wpm Lit. Michelle has received a 4.0 GPA every semester since she began the program in 2011. In January, 2013, she was recognized as the school's first "Student of Distinction" in the CCR program. This program was started to recognize and spotlight a student who has had success in the program. 

This year's essay topic was: 

"What influenced your choice of majoring in court reporting? Briefly describe your long- and 
short-term career goals. Where do you see yourself ten years from now?": 

Congratulations, Michelle, a future court reporter. 

Michelle's winning essay:

I made the decision to pursue a career in court reporting when I found out that I was pregnant with my first daughter. I was seeking a career that would allow me to have a more flexible work schedule while I raised my family but could still give me the ability to make a respectable income. I considered several career paths, but I kept coming back to court reporting because I have always had an interest in the legal system. I liked the idea of being involved in various court proceedings and it just sounded like a career path with endless potential for the future. I liked the thought that I could work as a freelance reporter for several years while my children are young, and as they got older I could take on more work. 

When I began my theory classes I was 6 months pregnant and working 50 hours a week in sales. I was really worried at first that I had bitten off more than I could chew. I had spent a large sum of money on a Protégé writer, plus my tuition, and I was completely overwhelmed during my first week of class. Somehow I had it in my head that court reporting was just about learning how to type really fast, and I didn't fully realize that I was going to be essentially learning a whole different language. I had serious doubts at first, but my pride wouldn't let me give up. My husband, family, and friends were all watching, and while they were all supportive I couldn't help but wonder if they thought I was impulsively changing careers as a result of my pregnancy. I couldn't stand the thought of quitting, and I'm so glad now that I toughed it out. Theory was difficult at first, but as the weeks went by it made more and more sense and really started to come naturally to me. I gave birth to my first daughter on the Monday of finals week and I was so dedicated to my schoolwork that I managed to submit all of the requirements by the due date of Friday, despite my professors telling me that I could have an extension. I went part-time at work this past fall so that I could focus more on schoolwork. My daughter is now 13 months old and we are expecting our second daughter in the spring. Despite the craziness in my personal life, I have managed to excel tremendously in the program and I anticipate graduating by this December —- just two years after beginning theory. 

My short term career goal is to start working with a well-respected firm once I graduate and absorb as much as I can from my colleagues. I understand that each firm does things a little differently and there will be a period of time where I will need to learn the preferences of my future employer. I also realize that coming right out of school, I will have very little real-life experience and I will need to prove my abilities. My goal will be to prove to my employer that I am a capable and trustworthy reporter, and to demonstrate my writing abilities on my early jobs so that they feel confident sending me on more difficult jobs in the future. 

My long term career goal is to distinguish myself as a well-known professional reporter in my region. I plan to remain actively involved in the OCRA and the NCRA and to keep myself up to date with all of the technological changes that the future inevitably holds for court reporters. I'd like to see myself become the go-to reporter for the most challenging jobs that my firm receives. When that happens I will look back on this part of my journey and smile, knowing that all of my struggles and the hours and hours of practice were completely worth it.