09/12/2026
Honoring a Legacy: An Update on the James T. DeCrescenzo Merit Awards Program
To our supporters, students, and educators:
I’m writing to share an important update about Project Steno’s Merit Awards: our board has made the difficult decision to conclude the program. While this was not a decision we reached lightly, our available resources and funding have become more limited, and we need to focus them where they can have the greatest impact — sustaining the core mission that carries Project Steno forward.
And our mission is thriving.
Our $1,000 Merit Awards have celebrated outstanding stenographic court reporting students who reached remarkable milestones — 140 words per minute in one year and 225 words per minute in two years or less. These achievements reflect the extraordinary talent, perseverance, and commitment required to succeed in this profession. Your generosity helped make that recognition possible. Over the past ten years, our generous donors have helped Project Steno provide $426,000 in support to deserving students. We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to have invested in these students and celebrated their accomplishments.
We are creating a bright future for stenographic court reporting.
Our free six-week Basic Training program is experiencing tremendous demand. We are now enrolling more than 200 students each month, with 92 students currently on our waitlist. Court reporting schools across the country are reporting the same — full enrollments and growing waitlists. These are encouraging signs that our efforts to introduce students to stenography are working. And that demand also makes continued support more important than ever.
If Project Steno’s mission is meaningful to you, we hope you’ll consider making a gift. Your support helps sustain Basic Training and the people and operations behind it, allowing us to introduce more students to this rewarding profession and strengthen its future. You can donate here: ProjectSteno.org/donate.
While the Merit Awards program is coming to a close, its impact—and the achievements of every student we were privileged to honor—will remain part of Project Steno’s story.
To the donors, volunteers, supporters, and educators who helped make this program possible: thank you. Your support has made a lasting difference, and we will carry that spirit of encouragement forward.
Support Us Donate Now This is a great time to become a stenographic court reporter or captioner. Young people can have a white-collar, six-figure career without taking on crippling student loan debt. Who else can promise such a rewarding career without a four-year college degree? But the shortage is...
