Meet Jillian Henry - NPC Freinds & Family Feature Student of the Month
Jillian Henry first came to my attention in spring 2022 as a student at Northland Pioneer College (NPC), when she applied for a scholarship from NPC Friends and Family. She asked me to review her essay before she submitted her full application. I am committed to assisting students in learning how to apply for scholarships, not only to attend NPC, but to help them through their entire postsecondary journey. Jillian’s personal mission, described in her essay, resonated with me in a big way. After learning in 2018 that she was diabetic, she has striven to learn as much as possible about the disease, to become, as she puts it, “…an advocate, preventer, and educator about this disease to help my people feel hopeful.”
In working with Jillian on refining her first scholarship application, I noted she had first begun taking classes at NPC over ten years before, through The Learning Cornerstone, which was the college’s Adult Basic Education program. This is significant because it illustrates Jillian’s determination and commitment to earning a degree. She began college-level coursework toward her associate degree in Medical Assisting in Fall 2020, a semester in which many students were profoundly challenged by COVID. In every semester since, Jillian consistently improved her grades. Throughout this rigorous program, she carried a full-time course load, and since Fall 2022, she has earned a 4.0 GPA every term. She even took Math 142 in the same, accelerated summer 2023 semester as her Medical Assistant Externship, earning grades of A in both classes.
Jillian earned her associate degree from NPC this May 2024. She achieved this milestone in her impressive academic journey while balancing work and motherhood. She is also a perennial volunteer, having coached basketball in the Blue Ridge Youth League for third and fourth-grade boys, and taking part in studentled activities at NPC, including the college’s biannual Eagle Fest this spring, where she staffed a booth sharing information about her White Mountain Apache Tribe. She is an active member of NPC’s Alpha Tau Omega chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for community college students, and was named as one of NPC’s delegation to the prestigious All-Arizona Academic Team this spring.
Now, Jillian is off to even bigger goals! She has been accepted into the Arizona State University College of Health Solutions to earn a Bachelor’s in Health Science degree. Her ultimate goal is to help the people of her White Mountain Apache Tribe to understand and manage their overall health, and to learn how diet, exercise, and other forms of self-care can prevent disease and improve existing conditions. Students like Jillian, supported by the kindness of people like you, and working together, each in their own niche and their own ways, can and will change the world for the better!
NPC Friends and Family is organized exclusively to support the mission and goals of Northland Pioneer College through the advancement of college programs and services, the establishment and growth of student scholarships, and the positive promotion of NPC.
NPC Friends & Family Inc. raises, invests, and distributes funds for the benefit of Northland Pioneer College and its students. We invite you to support one of our scholarships, give to the Eagle Fund, establish your own scholarship, or sponsor a special event or program. NPC Friends & Family Inc. is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization. It is through generous donors like you that allow NPC students to reach their full potential. Your gift can change a student's life.
NPC students are succeeding in spite of all the odds. Many are the first generation in their families to attend college. Lots of adults are coming back to school while coping with the responsibilities of caring for children or elderly parents. Most have incredible financial need and they succeed because of the scholarships made possible, and sustained, by generous people like you!
