{"id":64201,"date":"2021-10-18T08:49:09","date_gmt":"2021-10-18T15:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/?p=64201"},"modified":"2021-10-18T08:49:09","modified_gmt":"2021-10-18T15:49:09","slug":"new-donor-scholarships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/new-donor-scholarships\/","title":{"rendered":"NAU\u2019s donors are increasing access to higher education, one gift at a time"},"content":{"rendered":"

Despite a pandemic-stricken year, donors and alumni\u00a0gave generously\u00a0to the Northern Arizona University Foundation, propelling NAU to a new level of\u00a0academic excellence\u00a0and innovative research.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Donors invested in\u00a0more than\u00a020 new scholarships\u00a0last year which when added to existing scholarships, yielded more than $3.5\u00a0million\u00a0distributed via\u00a0more than 2,200\u00a0scholarships\u00a0to a diverse group of motivated and hard-working students\u00a0during the current academic year.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The impact of scholarships on student success is multifaceted. While\u00a0state funding for higher education dwindles\u00a0and many families struggle\u00a0to pay their bills, scholarships\u00a0create access and opportunity for students while\u00a0reducing reliance on multiple jobs or the burden of student loan debt.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSupporting students through scholarships\u00a0opens\u00a0paths\u00a0to\u00a0our shared\u00a0future\u00a0with hope and\u00a0promise,\u201d\u00a0NAU\u2019s President,\u00a0<\/span>Jos\u00e9\u00a0Luis Cruz Rivera\u00a0<\/span><\/b>shared. \u201cScholarships\u00a0remove barriers\u00a0for our students\u00a0and provide equitable postsecondary value to the students and the communities they represent.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen donors make a gift to the NAU Foundation, they are not just giving someone an opportunity to pursue a degree. They are opening doors to a new and improved life. They are equipping students\u00a0with tools to break\u00a0the cycle of\u00a0generational poverty\u00a0and shape\u00a0our shared\u00a0future,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0<\/span>Michael\u00a0Bassoff<\/span><\/b>, CEO of the NAU Foundation. \u201cSo many talented\u00a0people\u00a0put their academic\u00a0pursuits\u00a0on the back\u00a0burner simply because they cannot afford to go to school.\u00a0Donors create\u00a0life-changing\u00a0experiences and lifelong impact.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

NAU\u2019s\u00a0students\u00a0are as unique as the scholarships they received. Their\u00a0diverse\u00a0backgrounds, talents and reasons\u00a0to\u00a0pursue\u00a0a college degree\u00a0demonstrate\u00a0that financial assistance\u00a0goes beyond\u00a0one demographic.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNAU\u00a0scholarships are not limited to the Flagstaff area. With more than 20 statewide campuses and a\u00a0variety\u00a0of online degree programs, many scholars\u00a0work full-time and reside in different parts of the state,\u00a0such as Yuma or Kingman\u201d\u00a0Bassoff\u00a0said.\u00a0\u201cThanks to donor generosity, NAU students are shaping the future for a brighter tomorrow\u00a0across Arizona and beyond.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bradley Johnson\u00a0\u201921\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/b>
\nBS Elementary Education<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mojave campus student Bradley Johnson graduated last spring with a bachelor\u2019s degree in elementary education. Johnson is one of several beneficiaries of the Franke Scholars in Education, which aims to assist first-generation students while they do their student teaching, which is essentially a full-time job.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is difficult to juggle the many responsibilities I have,\u201d Johnson\u00a0said. \u201cAs a father and husband, my\u00a0No. 1\u00a0commitment is to support my family. Without this scholarship, I don\u2019t know if I would\u00a0have been\u00a0able to dedicate my time to student teaching and finish\u00a0my\u00a0last semester strong.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Katherine Jackson\u00a0\u201922<\/span><\/b>
\nPh.D.\u00a0Clinical Psychology<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Single mother,\u00a0Army veteran\u00a0and first-generation student\u00a0<\/span>Katherine Jackson<\/span><\/b>\u00a0hopes\u00a0to\u00a0eventually open a private practice that will focus \"\"<\/a>on\u202fneuropsychology testing, therapy and education.\u00a0\u00a0A\u00a0fascination with the brain and how it operates and a desire to advance her childhood community are the main forces\u00a0behind\u00a0her\u00a0scholarly quest.\u00a0\u201cMany\u00a0times,\u00a0people of color are pushed through the school system, not knowing that they have delays or\u00a0a\u00a0diagnosis that could get them extra services like physical therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy and special classes,\u201d\u00a0Jackson\u00a0said.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Her dream to help stop toxic generational cycles and lift her community has now become a concrete plan thanks to the help of donors. As a recipient of multiple scholarships, Jackson can continue her studies while she works and cares for her two children. \u201cThe doctoral program can become pricey when it comes to books and necessary programs. Sometimes for just one semester the books can total a couple thousand dollars,\u201d she said. \u201cI use the Martha Portree Commission on the Status of Women Scholarship and the Snider Family Scholarship for books and also to help with tuition so that I can work less and focus on school and spending more time with my family.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

George Testo \u201923<\/span><\/b>
\nBiomedical Science<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Undergraduate researcher and\u00a0biomedical\u00a0science major,\u00a0<\/span>George\u202fTesto<\/span><\/b>\u00a0\u201923\u202fwas drawn\u202fto\u202fNAU because of his passion for translational research.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In early 2020, the budding researcher began training under the supervision of\u00a0<\/span>Emily Cope<\/span><\/b>\u00a0and\u202fpeers at the Pathogen and Microbiome Institute. As an undergraduate research assistant,\u00a0Testo\u00a0is actively engaged in the field of microbiome research, where he is learning about modern and intuitive lab techniques.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy research focuses on genetic material to study bacteria and give better health diagnostics and medical care to those who need it,\u201d the Tucson native\u00a0said.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After attending NAU,\u00a0he\u202fis aiming for\u202fa Ph.D.\u00a0in\u00a0immunology. \u201cI am planning on using my future research as a backbone for my potential search for answers that could lead to new and improved scientific breakthroughs in both microbiology and immunology,\u201d he\u00a0<\/span>said<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Your gift, whether big or small, can make a lifelong difference in a student\u2019s life<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>Read more stories about the impact of scholarships and other donor investments\u00a0by visiting\u00a0<\/span>the NAU Foundation website<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Despite a pandemic-stricken year, donors and alumni\u00a0gave generously\u00a0to the Northern Arizona University Foundation, propelling NAU to a new level of\u00a0academic excellence\u00a0and innovative research.\u00a0\u00a0 Donors invested in\u00a0more than\u00a020 new scholarships\u00a0last year which when added to existing scholarships, yielded more than $3.5\u00a0million\u00a0distributed via\u00a0more than 2,200\u00a0scholarships\u00a0to a diverse group of motivated and hard-working students\u00a0during the current academic year.\u00a0\u00a0…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":86,"featured_media":64217,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-64201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-community"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/86"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64201"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64201\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}