After conducting multiple classes for students about how to apply for scholarships along with a simplified, online process for submitting applications, NPC Friends and Family (NPCFF) received 49 applications for the fall 2023 semester. Scholarship winners included 33 continuing students and seven recent high school graduates who will go on to work toward their associate degrees from Northland Pioneer College (NPC).
The number of applications made the process very competitive. Applicants are scored on a personal essay and are evaluated based on the applicant’s college and career goals, how well they are aligned, their resourcefulness with college planning, their need for the scholarship, and their academic merit. Some also require letters of recommendation. Of the 49 applications received, 40 qualified for assessment. Scholarship review committees were comprised of members from the NPCFF board, NPC faculty, staff, and administrators. Scores ranged from a high of 97.14% to 81.26%, and every one of the qualified applicants will receive at least one scholarship from NPC Friends and Family. The highest scorers received NPCFF’s most prestigious and memorial scholarships. Of the 40 qualified applicants, 16 (40%) are pursuing the Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN).
Autumn Sprengeler of Fort Apache, a student in the college’s Pharmacy Tech program, received the highest score among all applicants. She was awarded the $1,000 Jeanne Swarthout, Ph.D., Presidential Excellence Scholarship, which was established to honor the former NPC president upon the occasion of her retirement. Sprengeler is also a fall 2023 winner of the $1,000 AndyVon Academic Scholarship for Native American Students.
The White Mountain Women’s Club generously funded two scholarships of $3,400 each, with awardees receiving $1,700 per semester for the 23-24 academic year. Applicants must be attending NPC’s White Mountain Campus in Show Low full-time during the period of the award. Kristen Cline of Show Low will enter the Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) program in Fall 2023, with the goal of earning her ADN and Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) concurrently. She is an excellent student with a strong work ethic, as evidenced by the outstanding grades she earned in completing her prerequisites for the program. Jocilyn McCleve of Snowflake will begin her second year in the ADN program and is concurrently enrolled in the BSN program through Arizona State University. While this concurrent enrollment in the nursing program is an academic challenge reserved for only the most capable students, McCleve and Cline have demonstrated that they are well up for it. It is noteworthy that Cline is a recent cancer survivor and the mother of two young children, while McCleve is a mother of three.
A third scholarship provided by the White Mountain Women’s Club, the $1,200 Doris Powers Memorial Scholarship, was awarded to Marynda Caldwell of Snowflake. Caldwell earned her licensure as a Certified Nursing Assistant through the NAVIT program while she was still in high school. She will enter the second year of the ADN program this fall and will graduate in May 2024. Caldwell works part-time at Summit Healthcare as a Patient Care Tech while completing her nursing classes.
The $1,000 Jon Graff, Ph.D., University Bound Scholarship was awarded to Brisa Guevara of Snowflake, who is also concurrently enrolled in the NPC ADN and Bachelor of Science in Nursing programs. She will finish her associate degree in May 2024 and will earn her BSN by that fall. The $1,000 Jon Graff, PhD, Career and Technical Education Scholarship was awarded to Stephanie Fragozo, a student in Northland Pioneer College’s Surgical Tech program. Fragozo plans to use her talents as a bilingual English and Spanish speaker for patients who speak only Spanish to navigate the surgical experience. Completers of the Surgical Tech program are in great need across Arizona and especially at rural hospitals. Dr. Jon Graff was a longtime champion of NPC students through his sponsorship of, and participation in the annual Pedal the Petrified bicycling event. His bequest to NPCFF assures his scholarships continue to change the lives of NPC students.
The Pres Winslow Memorial Scholarship, created in honor of Charles Prescott “Pres” Winslow, who was a devoted volunteer in the Winslow Unified School District and a member of the NPC District Governing Board will provide $1,000 each to Lila Taylor and Angelica Loya, both of Snowflake. Taylor was inspired to become a nurse after caring for a close family member with terminal cancer. She was admitted to the nursing program in the Fall of 2022 and works as a Certified Nursing Assistant for a local hospice while attending classes at NPC. She plans to continue to work toward a specialty in hospice nursing. She just completed her first full year in the nursing program and will earn her Associate Degree in Nursing in May 2024. Loya also aspires to be a nurse. She is in the process of becoming a licensed Cosmetologist and maintains a 4.0 GPA in the NPC Cosmetology program. Her intent is to use her skills and licensure to get a well-paying job that will fund her prerequisites for the NPC nursing program. She currently works as a nanny, caring for eight children. Loya’s outstanding work ethic, determination, and self-reliance truly impressed the scholarship review committee.
The Jennifer Lee Witt Memorial Scholarship was endowed by the parents of Jennifer Witt, a beloved English professor at NPC. Jennifer was not only a talented instructor but a champion for students. She seemed to have a sixth sense for those who needed a little extra care and support. Three students won her $1,000 scholarship. Hanna Bucholz is a 2023 high school graduate of Show Low High School, who took classes from NPC through the dual enrollment program. Bucholz knows she wants to do something in the medical field, and is leaning toward Sports Medicine. She will continue to pursue an Associate of Science degree with help from the scholarship. Megan Crawford of Show Low and Bryson Sheppard of Winslow will also receive the scholarship; both are nursing students with the goal of earning the BSN shortly after completing their Associate Degree in Nursing at NPC.
The $1,000 Doris Reed Scholarship for Nursing and Allied Health will be awarded to Angelita “Angel” Juan of Show Low, who just completed her first year in the nursing program. She continues to broaden her experiences and explore options for the kind of nursing she will specialize in upon earning her degree in May 2024.
The Claude Millet Endfield Early Childhood Development Scholarship was awarded to Karlita Pablo of Whiteriver, Adriana Benally of Kayenta, and Kassidy Flake of Snowflake. The scholarship was established for Endfield, a longtime faculty in Early Childhood and one of the first graduates of Northland Pioneer College in 1974. When Endfield retired as chair of the program, the scholarship was a gift from her many friends and colleagues who continue to contribute to it each year.
For the third straight semester, the Sentry Welding Supply Scholarship, funded by local businessman Doug Seaman, who is a passionate advocate of higher education, was awarded to three welding students: Aldean Billy of Joseph City, Farrell Baldwin of Ganado, and Malachi Kessay of Whiteriver. Billy and Baldwin attend the Painted Desert Campus in Holbrook. Kessay takes welding classes in Show Low. Baldwin was also awarded the AndyVon Academic Scholarship, while Billy won the $1,000 Leg Up Scholarship. Kessay will also receive the Corky Elikann Memorial Scholarship for Alchesay High School, founded by the family of Corky Elikann. It will provide him with $1,000 per semester for the 23-24 academic year.
The Charles E. Lisitzky Scholarship, established in memory of the late Holbrook businessman in honor of his lifelong support of Native American college students, will go to Daelyn Nez of Indian Wells, who is pursuing her Associate of Science degree. She plans to transfer to the University of Arizona’s Animal Science program to work toward a graduate degree in veterinary medicine. Nez was also awarded the AndyVon Academic Scholarship.
Mrs. Terry Shove, NPC Friends and Family Board President and member of the Round Valley School Board established the Tim Shove Memorial Scholarship to honor her late husband. Associate of Science student Jose´ Torres of Springerville was awarded the scholarship, which will provide him with $500 per semester for the 23-24 academic year. Torres also won the Leg Up Scholarship.
Since 2021, the NPC On The House scholarship has awarded $2,000 each academic year to three graduating high school seniors. This great fund was established by Mr. Chris Corbin, owner, and proprietor of The House restaurant in Show Low, as a means of giving back to the White Mountain Communities. This year’s winners are Graecyn Lewis of Show Low High School, who will study Hotel and Restaurant Management, Jaydee Flake of Snowflake High School, who plans to enter the medical field in radiology or speech pathology, and Camille Shumway, also of Snowflake High School. Shumway also won the $500-per-semester Arvin Palmer, Ph.D., Memorial Scholarship, honoring the late NPC Vice President. She is pursuing an Associate of Arts degree and plans to one day become a dental hygienist. All three awardees and their families will be celebrated at a special event in August at The House, courtesy of Mr. Corbin and his great staff.
The AndyVon Academic Scholarship for Native American Students was awarded to Espenzephire Tenakhongva of Kayenta who plans to complete his Associate of Science at NPC within two years, then transfer to a university to study mathematics.
NPC Friends and Family $1,000 Fill the Gaps scholarship recipients include Elizabeth Waddell, Kassidy Flake, Anna Johnstun, Bradford Pagnini, Alana Johnson, Candace Begay, Amandalynn Truax, Emily McCullough, and Cornelia Nez. The $1,000 NPC Leg Up scholarship was awarded to Kaylie Whatcott-Hancock, Maggie Shumway, Sara Chevalier, Natalee Hall, Dawni Cardinal, and Marie Ortega.
To date, NPC Friends and Family has awarded $46,600 for the upcoming academic year, with more scholarship awards coming. “Summit Healthcare has once again generously provided ten $1,000 nursing scholarships,” notes Friends and Family executive director Betsyann Wilson. Applications are being accepted through Tuesday, June 13th at 12:00 noon, MST, and all information on how to apply can be found at https://www.npc.edu/scholarships/summit-healthcare-foundation-nursing-scholarship.
Friends and Family also has two scholarships for 2023 graduates of NPC who are going on to earn baccalaureate degrees. The Taking Flight Scholarship in Memory of Dr. Eric B. Henderson https://www.npc.edu/scholarships/taking-flight-scholarship-memory-dr-eric-b-henderson, established by the family of Dr. Henderson, provides $1,500 to one NPC student each year, who has graduated from NPC with an associate degree and is entering a residential, baccalaureate degree program at an accredited college or university in the fall semester following their graduation from NPC.
The AndyVon Baccalaureate-Bound Scholarship for Native American Students https://www.npc.edu/scholarships/andyvon-baccalaureate-bound-academic-scholarship, provides $3,000 to one Native American NPC student each year, who has graduated from Northland Pioneer College with an associate degree and is entering a baccalaureate degree program at an accredited college or university in the fall semester following their NPC graduation.
“I am grateful to see how NPC Friends and Family has grown,” Wilson says. “I am so happy to receive so many strong applications and to be able to assist so many worthy students in meeting the financial challenge of going to college. I want students to know that there are scholarships available, not just to attend NPC, but to any post-secondary institution. I want people to learn how to find these opportunities and apply for them. College is for everyone, and there is a scholarship opportunity for everyone.”
Since Fall 2014, NPC Friends and Family has awarded over 700 scholarships to NPC students, making a tremendous difference in their pursuit of post-secondary education. To learn more about NPC Friends and Family, including how to apply for scholarships, contact Betsyann Wilson at 928-536-6245 or betsy.wilson@npc.edu. You can also make a tax-deductible donation at www.npcfriendsfamily.org.
