Northern Arapaho Endowment Scholars Named at UW

Nine University of Wyoming students are the recipients of Northern Arapaho Endowment Scholarships for the 2018-19 academic year.

They will be recognized at the American Indian Studies honoring of graduates and scholars ceremony Friday, May 11, at 5 p.m. in the Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center, located at 222 S. 22nd St. in Laramie.

Current recipients of the endowment scholarship who will continue to receive support for the coming year are: Contessa Bonds, who will graduate in summer 2018 with a Master of Science in health services administration, and Mia Holt, a senior in physiology, with a minor in American Indian studies, both from Lander; Tonya Dewey, a junior in criminal justice, and Christie Wildcat, a junior in American Indian studies, with a minor in anthropology, both from Riverton; Colleen Friday, a Master of Science degree candidate in rangeland ecology and watershed management, from Laramie; and Taryn Jim, a senior in speech, language and hearing science, with a minor in disability studies, from Ethete.

Alyson Sounding Sides, a junior in energy resource management and development, from Laramie, is a previous scholarship recipient who will receive support for the coming year.

New recipients are Nolan Smith, a freshman in kinesiology and health promotion, from Lander; and Jazmine Three Irons, a junior in business, from Riverton.

Current scholarship recipients who will earn degrees this semester are Antonia Valdez and Stephen Valdez, both from Fort Washakie. Antonia Valdez will receive a Bachelor of Arts in elementary education, with a concentration in creative arts; and Stephen Valdez will receive a Bachelor of Arts in American Indian studies.

The Northern Arapaho Endowment Scholarship Program was created in 1987 when the Northern Arapaho Tribe gave $500,000 to UW. The gift was matched by the state, creating a $1 million endowment that annually produces income for the scholarships. The endowment, with a current market value of $2.2 million, has provided more than $2.1 million to 98 individuals, 63 of whom have earned degrees and several others who are currently enrolled.

The Northern Arapaho Endowment at UW was established to help students from the Northern Arapaho Tribe gain formal knowledge, skills and abilities. 

“The spirit of the award assumes that the recipients have, as part of their ultimate goals, some direct participation, appropriate to their educational background, in activities that will further the common good of the Arapaho people,” says Debra Littlesun, UW Student Financial Aid associate director.

For more information about the Northern Arapaho Endowment Scholarships, call Littlesun at (307) 766-2411 or email dreed14@uwyo.edu.