NCBFAA’s 2027 Future Leaders Scholarship
NCBFAA is delighted to announce that two competitive $5,000 scholarships are now available to help both current and future members of our industry achieve their goal of furthering their education! These scholarships help offset the costs accrued while learning or further developing the skills which are necessary to succeed in a career in Customs Brokerage, Freight Forwarding, or related fields in international trade. We ask each of our NCBFAA Regular Member companies to share this special scholarship announcement with your staff today!
Our Association is most appreciative of Roanoke Insurance Group and Alba Wheels Up International for generously supporting NCBFAA’s 2027 Future Leaders Scholarship program.
NCBFAA's two annual scholarships help cover the cost of tuition. The scholarship award will be paid directly to the accredited institution and not to the applicant themselves. The two scholarship recipients are required to attend a special luncheon during the NCBFAA Annual Conference on Monday, April 12, 2027, at the Renaissance Orlando Hotel at SeaWorld. The recipients may also be asked to participate in brief interviews on camera to discuss their achievements. NCBFAA will cover the cost of the roundtrip airfare and one night’s stay at the conference hotel. Scholarship recipients are welcome to attend the full conference but would be required to pay for the extra days of their stay.
How to Apply:
Please note this scholarship program is open to employees and children of employees of NCBFAA Regular Member firms ONLY. This includes high school seniors, as well as students or employees, pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree with an accredited college or university. The applicant should be intending to or already pursuing a career in Customs Brokerage, Freight Forwarding or a related field, such as international trade and supply chain management.
To apply, please follow the requirements below. Then return your completed application by Feb. 1, 2027, with the following:
- Typed, double-spaced essay of 1,000-2,000 words, including a detailed bibliography, on the topic: “How can customs brokers deliver high-value compliance guidance in a complex regulatory environment without assuming the reasonable care obligations that belong to the importer of record?”*
- Employment verification letter from NCBFAA Regular Member firm indicating that the candidate or candidate's parent is so employed.
- Proof of acceptance to, or current enrollment in, an accredited college or university, your class year (e.g., high school senior, college undergraduate freshman, sophomore, graduate program, etc.), and major area of study.
- Short (100 words or less) personal statement of your career goals and a brief synopsis about the steps you took to research your response to the essay question.
- Previous recipients of an NCBFAA scholarship are not eligible for future consideration.
All candidates must submit their applications postmarked no later than Feb. 1, 2027, to NCBFAA Scholarship, 8601 Georgia Avenue, #612, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910. You may email your essay to cgillis@ncbfaa.org; however, you must provide a hard copy of the supporting materials before we will consider your eligibility for the competition.
The NCBFAA Scholarship Committee will select the scholarship winners by Feb. 9, 2027, and they will be notified by e-mail.
Don’t delay! Take advantage of this scholarship opportunity today!
*REASONABLE CARE INTRODUCTION One of the most significant effects of the Mod Act is the establishment of the clear requirement that parties exercise reasonable care in importing into the United States. Section 484 of the Tariff Act, as amended, requires an importer of record to use reasonable care to make entry by filing such information as is necessary to enable CBP to determine whether the merchandise may be released from CBP custody, and using reasonable care, complete the entry by submitting with CBP the declared value, classification and rate of duty and such other documentation or information as is necessary to enable CBP to properly assess duties, collect accurate statistics, and determine whether any other applicable requirement of law is met. CBP notes that requirements related to information and documents apply to electronic records, as well as to hard copy records. Despite the seemingly simple connotation of the term reasonable care, this explicit responsibility defies easy explanation. The facts and circumstances surrounding every import transaction differ—from the experience of the importer to the nature of the imported articles. Consequently, neither CBP nor the importing community can develop a foolproof reasonable care checklist which would cover every import transaction. On the other hand, in keeping with the Mod Act’s theme of informed compliance, CBP would like to take this opportunity to recommend that the importing community examine the list of questions below. In CBP’s view, the list of questions may prompt or suggest a program, framework or methodology which importers may find useful in avoiding compliance problems and meeting reasonable care responsibilities. Obviously, the questions below cannot be exhaustive or encyclopedic—ordinarily, every import transaction is different. For the same reason, it cannot be overemphasized that, although the following information is provided to promote enhanced compliance with the customs laws and regulations, it has no legal, binding or precedential effect on CBP or the importing community. Rather, it is an attempt to educate, inform and provide guidance to the importing community. Consequently, CBP believes that the following information may be helpful to the importing community and hopes that this document will facilitate and encourage importers to develop their own unique compliance measurement plans, reliable procedures and reasonable care programs. As a final reminder, it should be noted that to further assist the importing community, CBP issues rulings and informed compliance publications on a variety of technical subjects and processes. It is strongly recommended that importers always make sure that they are using the latest versions of these publications
