UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA GRADUATE HONORED AS 2005 NATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD WINNER BY RECORDING FOR THE BLIND & DYSLEXIC®
Athens, GA, resident is recognized at national nonprofit's awards celebration in Washington, DC

February 10, 2006 (Washington, DC) - Despite being visually impaired and 20 years older than the average college student, Kathleen Ernst graduated from the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia last May. For that, and her extraordinary scholarship, leadership, enterprise and service to others, Ernst was honored by Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D®) as one of three top winners of the 2005 Mary P. Oenslager Scholastic Achievement Awards (SAAs). RFB&D, a nonprofit organization, is the nation's educational library of recorded textbooks for students with visual impairment, dyslexia or other physical disabilities that make reading standard textbooks difficult or impossible.

Ernst told the gathering in Washington, DC, that "RFB&D provides its users with a sense of empowerment that would otherwise not be there. In its place would be frustration and limitation. It is said that information is power, and RFB&D provides that power by making information accessible to those of us who need to use this alternative method of learning."

Diagnosed with Stargardt's Disease, a leading cause of central vision blindness, Ernst began to lose her vision at age 11 and recalls encountering many academic and personal challenges related to her visual limitations. "With much support from family, friends and organizations such as RFB&D," she adds, "I have successfully overcome them." The Philadelphia native says she is the first woman in her family to graduate from college and that her father is "quite proud."

In addition to her studies at the University of Georgia and Georgia Southwestern University, Ernst has traveled to Cuba eight times and attended the University of Havana for a cultural immersion and intensive advanced level Spanish language program. All the while, she balanced her school work with a full-time position as Program Manager of the Terry College of Business IBM and BMA programs. Ernst has also worked and volunteered for Habitat for Humanity and was employed by the University of Pennsylvania.

RFB&D's National Achievement Awards (NAA) include the Mary P. Oenslager Scholastic Achievement Awards (SAAs) for college seniors who are blind or visually impaired and the Marion Huber Learning Through Listening® (LTL®) awards for high school seniors with learning disabilities. In all, RFB&D bestows more than $50,000 in awards to deserving students each year. Some of this year's winners are scheduled to meet with first lady Laura Bush at the White House later this month.

"RFB&D's National Achievement Awards recognize the accomplishments of students who are outstanding role models, not only for people with disabilities, but for all of us who endeavor to reach our full potential as students and as citizens," said John Kelly, RFB&D President & CEO.

RFB&D serves more than 141,000 students from kindergarten through graduate school and beyond, including 4,011 in Georgia, with its one-of-a-kind collection of more than 109,000 educational titles on CD or four-track cassette. RFB&D's AudioPlus® digitally recorded textbooks on CD provide unprecedented navigation, ease of use and proven effectiveness as learning tools for students with print disabilities. Students rely on RFB&D's unique accommodation to access the printed page and to achieve educational success. All of RFB&D's accessible titles are recorded by volunteers working in 29 recording studios nationwide.

EDITORS NOTE: Photos of the award winners at the event will be available at www.rfbd.smugmug.com on February 9 after 11:00 p.m. EST. Interview opportunities are available by calling Mark Zustovich at 609-520-7993, or after hours at 609-610-4508.