On Tuesday, April 1 NPC Friends and Family will raise money for Northland Pioneer College (NPC) student scholarships during the annual statewide 24-hour AZ Gives Day online giving event for non-profit organizations.
NPC Friends Family is committed to advancing the mission of NPC through the provision of scholarships that empower students across northeast Arizona to transform their lives through education. NPC serves students in Navajo and Apache counties including the lands of the Navajo, Hopi, and White Mountain Apache people. The event highlights the need for NPC students who, despite challenges, are determined to persist in their college dreams. This year, NPC Friends and Family hopes to raise $50,000 in scholarships for NPC students.
“Poverty is endemic across the college's service area, yet our students are determined to empower themselves through education,” explains Betsy Wilson, the executive director for NPC Friends and Family. “Through increased job opportunities and earning power, NPC graduates are literally breaking the cycle of poverty, improving income, reducing dependence on welfare programs, and serving as an example to friends and family members that a college degree is attainable.”
NPC Friends and Family offers over 40 scholarship opportunities for those interested in or who are currently attending NPC. Many of the scholarships represent the legacies of lost loved ones from our Northeastern Arizona communities. These endowed scholarships have been created by the friends and family of those who are no longer with us to leave a lasting legacy in their name and benefit generations of NPC students to come. The VAL 153 Scholarship is one such endowment. It celebrates the life of Valeree Reidhead Claude, a Pinetop, AZ, firefighter, and resident of Show Low who passed away in 2005 at the age of 33 while on duty at Pinetop Fire Station #12. Her badge number was VAL 153. The Local 4217 White Mountain Firefighters Association established the scholarship in her memory to cover full tuition and fees for students who are pursuing degrees in fire science or emergency medical technology (EMT).
Valeree loved her work, especially the service it provided to the people of the community. Her namesake scholarship has helped many area students who, like her, want to give back to the community. Nicole Yancy of Snowflake is this year’s awardee of the Val 153 Scholarship. She is the fourth generation in her family to be a firefighter. Her grandfather and great-grandfather worked for and founded the fire department in Oracle, AZ. Her mother, Rhonda Krouse of Taylor, was awarded the VAL 153 Scholarship in 2016 and went on to work with the Taylor-Snowflake Fire Department and became certified as an EMT. For Nicole, witnessing the success of her family and being able to follow in their footsteps with the help of the VAL 153 scholarship has motivated her. “Without this scholarship, I would not have been able to go back to school,” Yancy said. “My husband and I work hard, and it is a struggle to just get by much less pay for school. But when life handed me a chance to do something to become the best version of myself, I gladly took it! I’m very thankful for the assistance of this scholarship. I want to be able to look back at what I’ve done and feel proud.”
Over the past ten years, NPC has had loyal support from many in the community. Those who have participated in this event in the past may know that some very exciting bonus prizes are awarded each year. Last year, for the first time, NPC finished in first place in the category of Most Dollars Raised by a Mid-Sized Non-Profit and earned a bonus prize of $3,500.
Because NPC's per-credit tuition is the lowest of any college in Arizona's system, there is nowhere your gift will go further or help more students achieve their goal of a college education. “No gift is too large or too small to help an NPC student achieve their dream of a college education,” states Wilson.
To donate in support of local student scholarships during the 24-hour AZ Gives event on April 1, visit www.npc.edu/az-gives.
