Endowed scholarship to assist underemployed, non-traditional students  

Yavapai Community College announced it has established a “Yes You Can” scholarship fund in honor of Dr. Penelope Wills, outgoing president.  By mid-December, contributions to the endowed scholarship had exceeded $50,000.

According to the College, the scholarship will support underemployed, non-traditional students “in need of learning or upgrading their job skills in order to move into a well-paying, family-sustaining career.”  Contributions to the scholarship fund are welcomed and can be made online at the following web site: www.yc.edu/onlinegiving.

Continues six-year tradition of creating scholarships for Yavapai County nurses and radiologists; Valley residents Jordan Lewis and Roberta McLain among recipients

Over the past six years, 100 students accepted into the Yavapai College nursing and radiology programs have received financial assistance from the Community Healthcare Scholarship started by the Jewish Community Foundation. The goal of the scholarship is to create a local pool of qualified professionals in the healthcare industry.

The scholarship program is supported by donations from The Yavapai College Foundation, the Jewish Community Foundation, the Margaret T. Morris Foundation, Yavapai Regional Medical Center, the Harold James Family Trust and Prescott Radiology Group.

In an interview with reporter Torrence Dunham of  SignalsAz.com of September 5, 2018, Jordan Lewis, a recipient of a fall 2018 scholarship who lives in the Verde Valley, said he is pursuing a nursing degree and applied for the scholarship opportunity. According to the interview, he answered four questions asked in essay format discussing his future plans and involvement in the community.

“As soon as I read that, I was full of energy,” Lewis said, adding he texted his friends who also got the scholarship as well. “It’s a huge blessing in my life and it’s a good experience to know that the other three . . . are also getting the same chance to have their nursing school paid for.”

Once Lewis completes the program, the goal is to help the Verde Valley where he has lived for 15 years. “It will be good to stay in the Verde Valley and take care of the people I know because I know a lot of people through being there for that amount of time,” Lewis said.

Another recipient, Roberta McLain, lives in Cottonwood, and told reporter Dunham that “it’s incredible what the donors have done for us, it’s very humbling.” “It just really engrains in me how special our community is.”

Nursing scholarship recipients: Alejandra Betancourt, Ryder Collins, Hannah Haywood, Jordan Lewis, Joel Marsh,  Madison Martell, Angela Mazon, Roberta McLain, Tayler Rezzonico, Melanie Tortorello.

Radiology Technology recipients: Jovan Alaniz, Elizabeth Blake.

You may read Mr. Dunham’s article in full by clicking here. 

Prospective Yavapai Community College students vie for more than 100 scholarships

The third annual Cash for College Scholarship Awareness Night was held on the Verde Campus Tuesday, December 5. It  was a great success. The event was hosted by the Arizona Community Foundation of Yavapai County and the Arizona Community Foundation of Sedona in partnership with Yavapai Community College. There were at least 100 scholarships from 17 different scholarship providers available for student consideration. It is thought that too often many scholarships go unused.

According to a December 13, 2017 story in the Cottonwood Journal Extra written by Zachary Jernigan the event drew a “packed house.” You may read Mr. Jernigan’s story about the event in great detail once it is posted on line by clicking here, which will take you to the Journal Extra website.

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Dozens of available college scholarships to be discussed with parents and students–Everyone welcome

The Arizona Community Foundation of Yavapai County and the Arizona Community Foundation of Sedona have partnered with Yavapai College and multiple community groups to present the third annual Cash for College Scholarship Awareness Night. In the Verde Valley, the Scholarship Awareness Night will be held Tuesday, December 5, from 5 to 6:30 PM in building M on the Verde campus.

The purpose of the event is to provide students and their families and local educators with information about post-secondary scholarships. The scholarships are available for traditional students.

Through the Arizona Community Foundation’s online scholarship system, students are matched with more than 90 scholarships for which they may qualify.  Requirements for scholarship assistance will be explained during the event the Arizona Community Foundation is the largest private provider of scholarships in the state of Arizona.

A similar event will be held on the Prescott campus Monday, December 4, from 5 to 6:30 PM at the Yavapai College gymnasium, 111 E. Sheldon St., building 2.

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Includes cash for immediate use and permanent and perpetual endowment funds

 Yavapai Community College announced November 7 that  it had received a gift of $143,000 from the Soldwedel family.  The gift includes an endowment for the Del E. Webb Family Enrichment Center (FEC), the early childhood education center located on the Prescott campus. Kelly Soldwedel is a member of the FEC board of directors. Her 2-year-old daughter, Lake Thornhill, has been an FEC student since infancy. The $143,000 contribution also endows scholarships for all students in the District.

The Soldwedel family owns WNI, the parent company of The Daily Courier, Prescott Valley Tribune, Chino Valley Review, Verde Independent and the Camp Verde Bugle, among other media outlets across Arizona.

You may read the College’s announcement of the gift by clicking here. 

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67 students applied for “ED NOW” assistance fund created by the late Verde Valley resident Dr. Jay Fleishman in honor of his parents; 18 from Mingus

The Blog has learned that 9 seniors from Mingus Union High School received scholarships from Yavapai Community College Foundation in 2017.   They were selected from 67 students who applied for an EDUCATION NOW scholarship. The College reports on its website that “Education Now! Fund scholarships are strictly for Yavapai County high school students with a demonstrated financial need and an interest in any of YC’s dozens of degree and certificate programs.”

Dr. Jay Fleishman

The College also reported that “since its inception in 2007, the Yavapai College Education Now Scholarship Fund has helped 30 Yavapai County high school students avoid financial roadblocks on the road to and through college” (through 2016).  Click here to learn more about the Education Now scholarship fund.  

 The Education Now fund with a focus on Yavapai County students was endowed in 2007 by the Blanch T. and Maurice Fleishman Foundation.  The Foundation was created by Verde Valley resident Dr. Jay S. Fleishman, who died in 2010. Donations in Dr. Fleishman’s  memory are made to the Maurice and Blanche Fleishman Foundation c/o Diane Prescott, 551 So. Main St., Cottonwood, AZ 86326 or to the Yavapai Community College Foundation in Prescott.

This list for 2017 provided to the Blog included the following students:

Damian Huff

Carter Scott

Morgan Tignini

Shawn Mayo

Falbo Haili

Rachel Madara-Yagla (LEAD participant)

Sara Hernandez (LEAD participant)

Rachel Gibbons (LEAD participant)

Amanda Easter (LEAD participant)

Congratulations to all of the scholarship recipients.

Mingus School officials say College waits until July to notify students

Based on information received by Ms. Ruth Wicks, it is now estimated that five students at Mingus High School received scholarships from Yavapai College this year.  Ms. Wicks was informed that the Mingus students were not recognized at the High School’s Scholarship and Academic Honors Ceremony because Yavapai College does not award the scholarships until July, which is long after graduation.  The Yavapai College Foundation Scholarship application deadline is June 1. 

She was also informed that Mingus students who are accepted into the Honors Program at the College are notified in April.  In the class of 2017, Mingus did not have any seniors who were accepted into the Honors Program at Yavapai College.

This explains why a list of Yavapai Community College Scholarships did not appear at the Scholarship and Academic Honors Ceremony at the High School earlier this year. 

ASU, NAU and Arizona University award total of 29 scholarships; Wicks argues YCC should focus more on education in its mission statement

According to Ruth Wicks, a long-time retired Mingus Union High School educator, it was surprising that there were no Yavapai Community College scholarships awarded to Mingus Union graduates at the May 16, 2017 Scholarship and Academic Honors ceremony held in Cottonwood. Mingus Union High School is the largest in the Verde Valley with about 300 graduates. Wicks urged the Governing Board to place greater emphasis in its mission statement on education. She implied that with greater emphasis would come more scholarships for Yavapai County high school graduates from Yavapai College.

Wicks’ noted that a total of 29 scholarships were awarded by Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, and the University of Arizona. She also noted that because Mingus Union high school is a prime recruiting ground for Yavapai Community College, absence of scholarship winners attached to the name “Yavapai Community College” was surprising. Her presentation to the Governing Board is below.

McCasland questioning reveals inequity in scholarship awards; College places huge priority on athletic program

During the April 18, 2017 District Governing Board meeting, representative Deb McCasland asked Vice President Clint Ewell about the allocation of institutional scholarship awards. The question focused on how the College intended to distribute $877,000 in what is described as “institutional scholarships.”  These are scholarships generated by property taxes and tuition.  (The chart below shows the budgeted amount.)

Ewell responded that about 75% of the scholarships were intended for student athletes. These are athletes recruited by the College from outside Yavapai County.  As the chart below shows, less than 4% of student athletes are recruited from high schools in the County.  The remainder is intended for student leadership and the honors program.

Does anyone think it might be unfair to allocate such a huge percentage of scholarship funds to athletes?  Moreover, does the unfairness increase when you realize that almost none of those scholarships are awarded to Yavapai County High School students?