After conducting multiple classes for students about how to apply for scholarships along with instituting a new, simplified process for submitting online applications, NPC Friends and Family (NPCFF) has received the most applications ever for a single semester. “I am delighted to report that we received applications from 67 unique students,” reports executive director Betsyann Wilson. “We made a concerted push to market scholarship opportunities for this spring. In the past, we received applications from about 30 students, with most applying for multiple scholarships. This semester, a single online application put students into consideration for all the scholarships for which they were eligible. This was a really important change.” Wilson adds. “Only a couple of years ago we had a handful of scholarship opportunities, now we have over 30, some with multiple awards.”
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 67 applications received, 54 qualified for assessment. Scholarship review committees were comprised of members from the NPCFF board, NPC faculty, staff, and administrators. The cutoff score for receiving a scholarship award was 80%, and the average score among the awardees was 85.79%. Of 54 qualified applicants, 26 (48%) were nursing students.
Fifty-two NPC students will receive a total of $69,900 in scholarships for the spring 2023 semester. The highest scorers received NPCFF’s most prestigious and memorial scholarships.
Sara Chevalier, a nursing student from Show Low who attends the White Mountain Campus, received an average score of 94.36 from the reviewers, the highest score among all applicants. She was awarded the $1,200 White Mountain Women’s Club Doris Powers Scholarship. Chevalier is also a 2022-23 winner of the $1,000-per-semester NPC On The House Scholarship, provided by Chris Corbin of The House Restaurant.
The Jeanne Swarthout Presidential Excellence Scholarship, which emphasizes academic merit, was awarded to Jocilyn McCleve, a Snowflake mother of three small children. McCleve is concurrently enrolled in NPC’s Associate Degree in Nursing program and the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at Arizona State University. While this is an academic challenge reserved for only the most capable students, McCleve has earned a total of 96 credits and maintains a grade point average of 3.96 on a 4.0 scale.
The Jon Graff, Ph.D., University Bound Scholarship was awarded to Tara Greer, a nursing student from Pinetop who plans to earn her Bachelor of Science in Nursing after graduating from NPC. Greer was also awarded an NPCFF Leg-Up Scholarship. The Jon Graff Career and Technical Education Scholarship was awarded to Amber Glauvitz, a former foster child and mother of a 4-year-old son, who will graduate from the NPC nursing program in May. Two students, Dillon Goodman and Denver Cassity were awarded the Jon Graff, Ph.D., College and Career Prep Scholarship. Dr. 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.
Makayla Bierman, who is enrolled in the nursing program with her husband, Jacob, won the Pres Winslow Memorial Scholarship, created in honor of Charles Prescott “Pres” Winslow. Winslow was a devoted volunteer in the Winslow Unified School District and an NPC District Governing Board member. Bierman also won the Doris Reed Nursing Scholarship, established by the family of Mrs. Reed in honor of her 50+ years in the nursing profession. Bierman’s husband, Jacob, won an NPCFF Leg-Up Scholarship.
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 scholarship: Amber Glauvitz, a fellow nursing student Lila Taylor of Snowflake, and Emily Harris of Show Low. Harris is in the process of completing her Associate of Arts and intends to transfer to a university to study applied psychology.
The Claude Millet Endfield Early Childhood Development Scholarship was awarded to Tiffany Honahnie of Kykotsmovi, who is studying early childhood education at the Hopi Center in Polacca. 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 second 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: David Cummins of St. Johns, Aldean Billy of Joseph City, and Farrell Baldwin of Ganado. Billy and Baldwin attend the Painted Desert Campus in Holbrook. Baldwin was also awarded the AndyVon Academic Scholarship.
The AndyVon Academic Scholarship for Native American Students was awarded to Autumn Sprengeler, a student in pharmacy technology from Whiteriver, Madelin Zook of Snowflake and Jessica Todacheenie of Holbrook, both nursing students, and Rachael Antonio of Whiteriver who is working on her Associate of General Studies degree. Sprengeler also received the Charles E. Lisitzky Memorial Scholarship, established many years ago by the family of the late Holbrook businessman and longtime advocate for Native American college students.
Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, in addition to these awards, most of the awardees also received a $1,000 NPCFF scholarship. Those scholarship recipients include Rachael Antonio, Hannah Ballesteros, Amaree Barney, Jacob Bierman, Aldean Billy, Lindsay Burch, Marynda Caldwell, Shyn Clark, Kristen Cline, Breanna Cooper, Megan Crawford, Angelique Cromwell, David Cummins, Deedra DeWitt, Ashlyn Dighans, Kassidy Flake, Kaylea Gentry-Meadows, Brisa Guevera, Kaylie Whatcott Hancock, Emily Harris, Jillian Henry, Sierra Hernandez, Tiffany Honahnie, Delphine James, Raylee Johnson, Anna Johnstun, Angelita Juan, Tabitha LaRose, Makayla Minjarez, Cornelia Nez, Daelyn Nez, Marie Ortega, Karlita Pablo, Dahltyn Perkins, Amanda Riley, Maggie Shumway, Royale Stanley, Lila Taylor, Jose Torres, Jessica Todacheenie, Cydney Walters, Jenafer Wyatt, and Alysia Yosin.
“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 600 scholarships to NPC students, making a tremendous difference in their pursuit of a 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.
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