Six students headed to the University of Arizona received scholarships, as well as access to specialized support services, from Education Forward Arizona and the Freeport-McMoRan Foundation, according to an announcement earlier this month.
The Education Forward Arizona scholarships, which provided up to $6,000 in yearly renewable funds to each recipient, took a look at students from low-income households and underrepresented communities.
The scholarships were awarded to 15 Arizona high school seniors, four of whom will be attending the University of Arizona.
Those four awardees included Tristin Anaya, Dulce Cardenas Moreno, Evamaria Tanori Contreras and Kimberly Alvarado Mata.
The Freeport-McMoRan Native American scholarships, which were managed by Education Forward Arizona, awarded 23 recipients with up to $5,000 for those attending a university or tribal college and $2,500 for those attending a community college.
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Like the Education Forward Arizona scholarships, the awards are renewable for four years.
Applicants had to be an enrolled member at one of the qualifying tribes, which included the Hualapai Tribe, San Carlos Apache Tribe, White Mountain Apache Tribe or the Tohono O’odham Nation.
Two of the 23 recipients will be attending the University of Arizona: Tanjia Clarkson from the White Mountain Apache Tribe and Viktoras Sangster-Biye’ from the San Carlos Apache Tribe.
Raytheon honors TUSD teachers
Three teachers with the Tucson Unified School District were selected as finalists for the Raytheon Leaders in Education award. One of them rose as one of the top four winners.
Ernesto Somoza, the graphics and web design teacher at Pueblo High School, was singled out as Raytheon’s Leader in Education in the high school category.
“I chose this profession because I know that what I teach to our students today is an investment into our future,” Somoza said in a TUSD news release. “Students sometimes don’t realize how much power they have to create change within their schools and communities.”
The other TUSD finalists included Christopher Ryan, a language arts teacher at Dodge Traditional Middle Magnet School, and Patricia Perez, a pre-kindergarten teacher at Pueblo Gardens K-8.
The Raytheon Leaders in Education Award aims to recognize educators who make contributions to their schools and communities.
AEF Teacher of Year finalists
One Pima County teacher was a finalist, and two others were semifinalists in the Arizona Educational Foundation’s 2022 Teacher of the Year awards, according to an AEF news release this week.
In addition to its Teacher of the Year award, the AEF names the top four finalists as Ambassadors for Excellence, who serve as spokespersons in advocated for classroom excellence.
Ashton Gildea, an English teacher at Walden Grove High School in Sahuarita, was announced as one of the four 2022 Ambassadors for Excellence.
Five other teachers, including two from Pima County, were selected as the semifinalists. Those included Jessica England, a music and language arts teacher at Sahuarita Middle School, and Kristina Laborin, a language arts, social students and gifted education educator at Old Vail Middle School.
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