The overall competition for scholarships from Northland Pioneer College Friends and Family (NPCFF) for the fall 2024 semester yielded great results. The simplified process for submitting online applications, launched in Fall 2022, multiple scholarship information classes, the online availability of both written and video tutorials for developing a scholarship essay (in use for the past four semesters), and a concerted push to market scholarship opportunities through direct email and social media has resulted in NPCFF receiving another strong round of applications. Between March 1 and the April 18 deadline, applications were received from 61 students. Of those, 54 were qualified for review. The number of total applications is up from 56 to 61 (8.9%) from Spring 2024; the number of qualified applications is up from 52 to 54 (3.8%) from Spring 2024.

Of the 54 applications that were completed, 9 (16.7%) qualified for the Jon Graff, PhD, College and Career Prep (CCP) scholarship. The preparation and submission of a scholarship application was a class assignment given to students in an integrated Nursing Assistant program by their instructor, Faculty in College and Career Preparation, Ms. Jesse Reeck. These will be reviewed and awarded separately from those who qualified for all other NPCFF scholarships in August.

Applicants are scored on a personal essay that is evaluated based on criteria including the applicant’s sense of college and career goals and how well they are aligned, their resourcefulness with regard to college planning, their need for the scholarship, and their academic merit. Some were also required to submit letters of recommendation. Scholarship reviewers are provided with a scoring rubric to assist them in assessing each applicant according to the criteria. For this particular round of scholarships, there were three teams of volunteers, each comprised of 7-9 individuals. Teams include members of the NPCFF board, the NPC District Governing Board, college faculty, staff, administrators, and the community at large. To calculate each applicant’s score, the highest and lowest scores awarded by reviewers for each applicant are discarded, and the remaining scores are averaged.

The cutoff score for scholarships was 81%. Thirty-nine of the 46 qualified applicants (85%) received at least one scholarship. Some applicants received two, based on the scores they received and their degree plan. For example, some scholarships are only available to nursing students; some are only for students in the college’s Early Childhood Education program. The average score among the awardees was 87.9% The highest score among the awardees was 96.9%, earned by first-year nursing student Raynelle Maloney of Kykotsmovi. Scholarships will be of great benefit to Raynelle, who will travel to the Little Colorado Campus in Winslow each day, a round trip of over 150 miles. April Tucker of Sanders, who is pursuing an Associate of Applied Science degree in Surgical Technology, earned an average of 95.52%. April will travel to Show Low for her program, also a round trip of approximately 150 miles. Karlita Pablo, a student in Early Childhood Education from Whiteriver, rounded out the top three scores with an average of 95.09%.

“It is gratifying to see the number of applications increasing and the quality of applications improving each semester,” Wilson notes. She credits the work of NPC’s communications department, including Director Katie Matott, Media Relations Coordinator Lia Keenan, Marketing Generalist Brett Halfpop, and Graphic Design and Digital Media Specialist Matthew Chavez, along with NPC Academic Advisors, Recruiters, and Financial Aid Specialists, with getting the word out to students about the availability of the scholarships, and directing them to a newly-designed web site and application portal.

Awardees for Fall 2024 include four members of the inaugural cohort of NPC’s first bachelor’s degree program, the Bachelor of Applied Science in Early Childhood Education. Celena Ambrose of Holbrook, Debbie Burbank of Pinon, Larissa Lewis of Winslow, and Amandalynn Truax of Fort Apache will receive $1,000 for Fall 2024 to go toward their tuition, books, and fees for their second semester in the new program.

Other awards are as follows:

• AndyVon Academic Scholarship for Native American Students ($1,000): Adriana Benally (Kayenta, Early Childhood Education); Delphine James (Lupton, Associate of Arts); Raynelle Maloney (Kykotsmovi, Associate Degree in Nursing); Karlita Pablo (Whiteriver, Early Childhood Education); April Tucker (Sanders, Surgical Technology); Jennifer Tullie (St. Johns, Certified Nursing Assistant).
   
• Arvin Palmer, PhD, Memorial Scholarship ($1,000 - $500 per semester): Kenli Gardner (Snowflake, Associate of General Studies).
   
• Charles E. Lisitzky Memorial Scholarship ($500): April Tucker (Sanders, Surgical Technology).
   
• Claude Millet Endfield Early Childhood Development Scholarship ($1,000 - $500 per semester): Karlita Pablo (Whiteriver); Branson Parent (Taylor).
   
• Doris Reed Nursing Scholarship ($1,000): Jennifer Brimhall (Snowflake).
   
• Jeanne Swarthout, PhD, Presidential Excellence Scholarship ($1,000): April Tucker (Sanders, Surgical Technology).
   
• Jennifer Lee Witt Memorial Scholarship ($1,000): Sadonah Chischilly (St. Johns, Associate of Arts in Elementary Education); Bridget Dozier (Eagar, Associate of Arts in Elementary Education); Jesse Garrett (Lakeside, Associate of Arts).
• Jon Graff, PhD, Career and Technical Education Scholarship ($1,000): Llisle Richins (St. Johns, Cosmetology).
• Jon Graff, PhD, University Bound Scholarship: ($1,000): Tyler Wiley (Concho, Associate of Business).
• Mary Kay Smith Lindy Nursing Scholarship: ($500): Raynelle Maloney (Kykotsmovi, Associate Degree in Nursing).
• Newman Family Memorial Scholarship ($1,000 - $500 per semester): Jose Tafoya (Winslow, Associate of Science).
• NPC On The House, provided by The House of Show Low ($2,000 -$1,000 per semester): Kenli Gardner (Snowflake - Snowflake High School, Associate of General Studies); Brynlynn Lang (Show Low – Show Low High School, Pre-Nursing); Kami Ellsworth (Pinetop – Blue Ridge High School, Associate of Arts); Trevor Klein (Show Low – Blue Ridge High School, Associate of Business).
• Pres Winslow Memorial Scholarship ($1,000): Haylee Edds (St. Johns, Associate of Arts in Elementary Education); Jessica Lowry (Winslow, Associate of Applied Science in Cosmetology); Tyler Wiley (Concho, Associate of Business).
• US Military Veterans Scholarship ($500): Haylee Edds (St. Johns, Associate of Arts in Elementary Education).
• White Mountain Women’s Club Doris Powers Memorial Scholarship ($1,200): Sara Chevalier (Show Low, Associate Degree in Nursing).
• White Mountain Women’s Club Scholarship ($4000 - $2000 per semester): Kristen Cline (Show Low, Associate Degree in Nursing); Skyla Araiza (Snowflake, Associate Degree in Nursing).
• NPCFF Fill-the-Gaps Scholarship: Carlotta Belone, Debi Benally, Shanae Canales, Victoria Castillo, Della Fish, LeeAnza Forsythe, Herculano Gasaway, Rivke Huma, Alaya Joe, Abagail Kimmins, Marie Ortega, Ammon Tingey.
• NPCFF Leg-Up Scholarship: Aldean Billy, Dawni Cardinal, Amanda Reeves, Makena Toone, Stephen Valichnac, Jade Vallery.

In addition to these scholarships, ten (10) $1,000 nursing scholarships, provided by Summit Healthcare Foundation, one $3,105 AndyVon Baccalaureate-Bound scholarship, and one $1,500 Taking Flight Scholarship in Memory of Dr. Eric B. Henderson will be awarded in June 2024 (deadline for applications is June 13, 2024 at 12:00 noon, MST.)

In July, four $2,000 BAS-ECE scholarships will be awarded. In August, $15,000 is available through AndyVon Transportation Grants for Native American Students. Visit www.npc.edu/ffscholarships for details.

NPC Friends and Family extends a heartfelt thank-you to all the donors who make these scholarships possible, and congratulations to all awardees! To learn more about NPC Friends and Family and to make a tax-deductible donation, please visit www.npc.edu/npcfriendsfamily or contact betsy.wilson@npc.edu. The application window for scholarships for Spring 2025 will be open on October  2024. Please visit www.npc.edu/ffscholarships.