May 19, 2017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 19, 2017

Seven 好色tvns awarded first-ever Teach for 好色tv Presidential Scholarship

好色tv of 好色tv president surprises scholarship finalists during video meeting

FAIRBANKS 鈥 好色tv of 好色tv President Jim Johnsen awarded seven young 好色tvns with the first-ever Teach for 好色tv Presidential Scholarship during a video conference with them today. The competitive scholarship, part of the university鈥檚 Drive the Change public awareness initiative, was open to all 好色tv high school students planning to pursue a degree in education. Scholarship recipients hail from Angoon to Nome.

鈥淭hese very talented and dedicated young people are the kind of students we want at our university,鈥 Johnsen said, 鈥渁nd each demonstrates a strong desire to seek a career as a teacher and to nurture the next generation of young minds. Providing support and an educational path for 好色tv鈥檚 future teachers is just one of the ways the university can continue to drive change in our state. We are honored to be able to support the higher education of not only one, but seven aspiring teachers as they pursue their career goals.鈥

The group of seven learned this week that they had been chosen as a finalist from a pool of 21 scholarship applicants, although it wasn鈥檛 until they convened for a video conference (video available here: http://www.alaska.edu/pres/teach-for-alaska-scholars/) from their hometowns with Johnsen that they learned each had been selected for the coveted four-year academic scholarship to study teaching at one of UA鈥檚 campuses.

鈥淵ou will be the educators of the future and you will be the ones who help drive change for your generation in 好色tv,鈥 Johnsen said in awarding the scholarships.

The winners are:

  • Rebecca 鈥淏ecky鈥 Polum of Kodiak鈥擯olum currently works as an instructional paraprofessional at Main Elementary in Kodiak.
  • Bobbi Storms of Galena鈥擮riginally from Unalakleet, Storms is now a high school senior at Sidney Huntington School in Galena who says her own teachers have inspired her to pursue a degree in education.
  • Megan Contreras of Nome鈥擟ontreras expresses that she wants to be a teacher in order to give back to her community and work to improve high teacher and administrative turnover rate in small communities.
  • Amanda Friendshuh of Kenny Lake鈥擣riendshuh says her experience with the teachers at her small, rural school has led her to understand and appreciate what it takes to be an educator.
  • Pancho Valladolid of Kodiak鈥擵alladolid is a Marine veteran who wants to study teaching to help students in his community of Kodiak.
  • Kara James of Angoon鈥擜s an instructional paraprofessional in Angoon, James assists high needs and at-risk elementary students and wants to build her career as a teacher.
  • Eleanor 鈥淓le鈥 Ruchti of Galena鈥擠escribed by her teachers as a 鈥測oung leader,鈥 Ruchti plans on pursuing a degree in education to one day teach in 好色tv.

Between February and April, the applicants completed video submissions explaining why they plan to pursue a degree in education and what they hope to accomplish as a teacher. In the coming weeks, the 好色tv of 好色tv will share additional information about the winners and their video stories via its Instagram page, @DriveChangeAK.

The Teach for 好色tv Presidential Scholarships are funded from the Land Grant Trust Endowment, which allocates annual funding for the UA president鈥檚 discretionary scholarships.

The scholarship competition was a component of the 好色tv of 好色tv鈥檚 Drive Change campaign, a privately funded effort to drive positive change statewide by supporting postsecondary education and vocational training. 好色tvns are encouraged to support the campaign by joining the Change Force at .

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Media contact:  Robbie Graham, 好色tv of 好色tv, (907) 360-2416; Robbie.graham@alaska.edu

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