The Adult Learning Writing Contest Magazine

 We are pleased to announce that the Insight 2020 magazine is available.
 
You can download it at this link. 
 
Thank you to all of the the learners, tutors, teachers and program directors who make this contest possible.

We hope you consider participating in the 2021 Learner Writing Contest.
 
Thank you. 
 
NJALL
njallmail@gmail.com

​NJALL is holding its seventh annual adult learner writing contest. This year we will award cash prizes in five categories - fiction, non-fiction, memoir, poetry and photography. All of the winners and selected other submissions will be published in a free magazine that will be available from our website in the summer of 2021. Winners and their teachers/tutors will receive printed copies of the magazine (when possible).
  
Categories
 
Fiction    Non-fiction    Memoir        Poetry          Photography
 
Prizes
 
1st Place - $100       2nd Place - $50         3rd Place - $25
 
Guidelines
 
* All adult learners are eligible, including students in adult literacy programs, those in adult high schools or equivalency programs, those in developmental education programs, those enrolled in English language classes and students studying for citizenship. 
 
* Learners can submit one piece per category, except for poetry. Learners can submit up to five poems for consideration. Learners can send in submissions for multiple categories.
  
* All submissions must be original and represent the work of the learner - not the work of their teacher or tutor. Teachers/tutors may help with spelling and grammar, but it should be limited in nature. We are using the honor system with regards to this. 
 
* English language learners can get help with translation, but the work should remain their own.
 
Submitting
           
Submissions need to be received by March 26th, 2021 at njallmail@gmail.com
 
The email should identify the category of the submission.
 
Submissions should include the learner's name and contact information and the name of the program or school they attend. The submission should also include a two or three sentence self-description of the learner. If the learner wishes to remain anonymous or use a pen-name, this information should be provided when the work is submitted. By entering the contest, the learner agrees to have their piece published in the magazine if it is selected.
 
All those submitting work will be notified of the decisions by April 16th, 2021.
 
You can download a copy of the call for submissions and guidelines here.
 
Please send any questions to njallmail@gmail.com
 

Acting as a Reviewer
 
If you are interested in serving as a reviewer, please send an email to njallmail@gmail.com 
We are particularly interested in having learners serve on the review committee. 

Find out who NJALL's Teacher of the Year and Leadership award winners are. We will also be announcing the winners of the Adult Learner Writing Contest and sharing other NJALL opportunities like the COVID-19 Learner Writing site and our on-going support of adult learners through our scholarship program.
Please join us as we highlight the accomplishments of these hard-working adult educators and students.
Time: May 26, 3:00-4:00
Registration:  NJALL Awards and News

Kristy Khan, Kim Cozier, Musa Aluga, and Pasang Schreck at the NJALL Scholarship Award Ceremony on June 21, 2019

On Friday, June 21, 2019, NJALL welcomed three new adult students, Kristy Khan, Kim Cozier and Musa Aluga into their Scholarship family. They also honored Pasang Schreck, a 2014 winner, for completing her goal and graduating from college. The Annual NJALL Scholarship Award Ceremony and Breakfast was held at the Conference Center at Mercer County College.
 
NJALL Scholarship winner, Kristy Khan, had always dreamed of completing school, but after working for 20 years and raising her family, her aunt convinced her that it was her turn. She enrolled in the Bergen County Technical Schools High School Equivalency Program, earned her diploma and is now attending Bergen County Community College.
 
Kim Cozier was selected as a 2019 Scholarship winner just as she was completing her Associate’s Degree at Essex County College. Kim migrated from Guyana to the US with high hopes of attending college, but family responsibilities interfered. After working for 30 years, she returned to Essex County College’s Adult Learning Center, where she earned her high school diploma and soon started college. Kim is now attending Rutgers University and following in the footsteps of her daughter, a Rutgers graduate.
 
The journey from his birthplace of Sudan during the war of 1980 was filled with obstacles of poverty and lack of support for Musa Aluga. Assisted by the United Nations, Musa arrived in the US in 2011. He soon learned that pursuing education was what was needed to someday have a career in nursing. After studying to learn English, he enrolled at the Essex County College Adult Learning Center to earn his diploma and followed that with enrollment in Essex County College where he earned his Associate’s Degree. Musa was selected for a 2019 NJALL Scholarship, which will help him as he continues his studies at the William Paterson University School of Nursing. Musa is living the American dream.
 
NJALL’s Annual Scholarship Award Ceremony is also the time when previous winners are invited to attend to encourage and share words of wisdom to the newly selected scholarship winners. This year, Pasang Schreck one of the speakers, also became an honoree. Pasang came to this country from Nepal and began her studies learning English at the Brookdale Community College Adult Basic Skills Program. Her next step was to earn her high school diploma and soon after to enter Brookdale Community College as a full-fledged college student. During her second year, she was recruited into the nursing program at Georgian Court University and proudly graduated as an RN with a Bachelor’s Degree in May 2019. Pasang, mother of two young sons, became the first recipient to receive the $1000 award from NJALL, a special bonus for those who complete a 4-year degree. Currently, she is studying for her Nursing Boards before starting her nursing residency. She is an inspiration to all who have come to know her!

We hope that the stories of our recipients will inspire adult educators to encourage promising adult students to apply for and perhaps become one of the 2020 NJALL Scholarship winners!

Earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing from
Georgian Court University, May 2019

Friday, June 21, 2019
Award Ceremony & Breakfast
9:00AM – 11:30AM
(NJALL Meeting to follow - Noon, all welcome)
 
At the Conference Center at Mercer County Community College
1200 Old Trenton Rd, West Windsor, NJ 08550
Directions:
http://conferencecenteratmercer.mccc.edu/contact_direction.shtml
 
To ATTEND:  Please Mail Check for $15.00 per person,
Payable to NJALL and Mail to:
Judy Faherty, Chair, NJALL Scholarship Committee,
P.O Box 584, Whitehouse Station, NJ 08889-0584
Deadline to sign up: June 14, 2019

Parking: Conference Center Parking Lot or West Parking Lot just after Conference Center

To ATTEND:  Please Mail Check for $15.00 per person,
Payable to NJALL and Mail to:
Judy Faherty, Chair, NJALL Scholarship Committee,
P.O Box 584, Whitehouse Station, NJ 08889-0584
Deadline to sign up: June 14, 2019

Please mail the information below along with your $15 payment

I Will ATTEND the NJALL SCHOLARSHIP AWARD CEREMONY & Breakfast
on Friday, June 21, 2019
 
Name: ___________________________Program (If any) ______________
 
Address: __________________________________/__________________
 
Phone: _________________Home? ____ Work? ____ Cell? ____________
 
Email: ________________________­­__ Cost $15:   Paid: (Check) ___   (Cash) ___

Adult Educators!

Will your students or graduates win this year?

There’s only one month left for you to encourage your eligible adult students and graduates with the potential to   succeed in college, to apply for the 2019 NJALL Scholarships.

NJALL will award scholarships on June 21, 2019, to two adults who prepared for and earned a high school diploma (GED, TASC, HiSet or Adult HS) at a NJ adult education program and have been accepted to/or are attending an accredited institution of higher education.
 
The Scholarship provides up to $750 per semester for full-time enrollment    (pro-rated for part-time) to a maximum of $1,500 per year, for a total of $6,000 for higher education. A bonus of $500 will be awarded upon completion of the Associate’s Degree and $1,000 at completion of a Bachelor’s Degree.
 
The 2019 Application with detailed information is available at:
NJALL Scholarship Application 2019
 All applications must be mailed, including all required documents, postmarked no later than May 15, 2019. 

Meet Ruth Rivera, 2018 Scholarship winner. In the winter of 2017, Ruth earned her high school diploma. It was a difficult journey to get there, having moved and changed schools several times and finally dropping out. Ultimately, Ruth found the Literacy New Jersey’s HSE (High School Equivalency) program at the Elizabeth Public Library.  The library had always been a comfortable place for her and when she met the HSE teachers she decided to try to get her diploma. This is how she described that time in her life:

“I then met the teachers in the HSE program and they were supportive, positive and convinced me that I could take the test and pass. I’m not sure I believed them at first. But I kept going to class and practicing and I was shown my assessment scores so I found the courage to sign up for the test. I was so nervous! It was challenging because I was working at Wendy’s at the time and I had to find time to study. Also, the library was more than a mile away from my house and I don’t have a car, so getting to class was also challenging. My real motivation was that I wanted to be the first person in my family to earn a high school diploma.”

Download Scholarship Application Here

Be sure to encourage your students/graduates to apply!

BULLETIN!
Dear Adult Educators and
Adult Education Students,
 
The 2019
NJALL Scholarship Application
 Is NOW AVAILABLE for
download HERE
and must be submitted by
 April 30, 2019
 
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
Are listed on the first page of the Application.
Don’t miss this opportunity!