Julia Golomb

Announcing the 2024 Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship Recipient: Cynthia Norman

In 2015, the WordPress Foundation established an annual memorial scholarship to honor the memory of Kim Parsell, a beloved and influential contributor to the WordPress community. This scholarship ensures that Kim’s core values continue to inspire and enrich the WordPress community.

This scholarship is awarded each year to a female WordPress contributor who has never attended WordCamp US and would require financial assistance to do so. More information on the scholarship, including past recipients, is available here.

We’re happy to announce that this year’s scholarship recipient is Cynthia Norman! Cynthia’s commitment to WordPress training and education embodies the values that Kim cherished.

A photo of Cynthia Norman standing in a garden, smiling at the camera.

Cynthia joined the WordPress Contributor Mentorship Program in its inaugural year as a mentee, and she credits that program with giving her the boost she needed to dig into WordPress and grow professionally. Cynthia began contributing to the WordPress Training team shortly after and hasn’t let up since!

When asked about her proudest contribution to WordPress, Cynthia points to a Learning Pathway course she developed for Learn WordPress:

I am an avid content creator with the Training Team and, so far, my proudest contribution to the WordPress open source project has been creating my first lesson for the Learning Pathway: Beginner Developer
course. Working collaboratively with WordPress educators has been so rewarding, and exactly what I needed to complement my freelance work as a WordPress developer.

If Cynthia’s name sounds familiar to you, it might be because she was recently featured in a WordPress Contributor Spotlight.

It’s also possible you’ve crossed paths with her in a WordPress Training team meeting.

You may have even stumbled across her YouTube channel full of WordPress tutorials!

To say that Cynthia keeps busy is an understatement.

When she’s not contributing to WordPress or playing with her six grandchildren, Cynthia enjoys spending her time outdoors in beautiful Ontario, Canada where she lives with her husband and her dog, Mya.

Apply for the Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship for WordCamp US 2024

The WordPress Foundation is proud to announce the Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship for 2024. Kim was a valued contributor to the WordPress open source project, and this scholarship honors her legacy. The Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship will be awarded to one WordPress contributor who is a woman, has not previously attended WordCamp US, and requires financial assistance to attend WordCamp US 2024.

The scholarship provides travel assistance for the recipient to attend WordCamp US, including travel from the recipient’s home city, hotel stay for the duration of the event, and a ticket to WordCamp US.

WordCamp US is an unparalleled opportunity to connect with web professionals, build your skills in the WordPress ecosystem, and meet WordPress contributors from around the world. This scholarship offers the chance to be part of a vibrant community and make lasting connections.

Eligibility Criteria

There will be one scholarship recipient in 2024. To be considered for the scholarship, applicants must meet the following criteria:

An active contributor to the WordPress project
A woman
Not previously attended WordCamp US
Requires financial assistance to attend WordCamp US 2024

How to Apply

If you meet the above criteria, we warmly invite you to apply for the Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship. The application is open through May 30, 2024. All applicants will receive notification by June 21, 2024.

For more information, please visit the WordPress Foundation’s page About the Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship.

Apply for the Kim Parsell Scholarship Today!

2023 Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship Recipient: Yumi Nishioka (mimi)

This year’s Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship recipient is Yumi Nishioka (mimi). mimi is a passionate WordPress contributor who embodies the values that Kim would have appreciated.

mimi is a Web/UI Designer and Developer based in Tokyo, and has been a WordPress contributor since 2018. She was lead organizer of WordCamp Tokyo 2019. That year she also began hosting a personal study group on the Gutenberg Project, which meets twice a month. Then in 2021, she started co-organizing monthly small study sessions about Design and WordPress.

While there have been numerous contributions I’m proud of, one that stands out is my commitment to the core code. Although it was a small code change, the experience of being actively involved in the open-source software that I use daily was incredibly rewarding.
– mimi

The WordPress Foundation created this memorial scholarship in 2015, to honor the memory of longtime WordPress contributor Kim Parsell and ensure that Kim’s values would continue to be infused into the WordPress community.

This scholarship provides travel to WordCamp US for a woman who contributes to the WordPress open source project, and who would not otherwise be able to attend WordCamp US. More information on the scholarship, including past recipients, is available here.

Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship for WordCamp US 2023

The WordPress Foundation will once again offer the Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship for travel to WordCamp US 2023.

At each in-person WordCamp US, the WordPress Foundation honors Kim’s commitment and valuable contributions to the WordPress open source project. The Foundation’s goal is to further the efforts of contributors who demonstrate Kim’s spirit, by helping to ease the financial burden of travel to WordCamp US.

This scholarship is awarded to someone who:

Identifies as a woman
Is a WordPress contributor
Has never attended WordCamp US before
Requires financial assistance to attend

This scholarship provides financial assistance so that the recipient can attend WordCamp US, including travel from the recipient’s home city, hotel stay for the duration of the event, and a ticket to WordCamp US.

If you meet these requirements and would like to be considered, please apply no later than Monday, June 12, 2023 at 11:00 pm Eastern Time. All applicants will be notified by June 29, 2023.

For more details, please visit the WordPress Foundation’s About the Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship page.

Apply for the scholarship today.