The largest and most significant way NPCFF supports students is always through the awarding of scholarships to help cover tuition, fees, books, and other educational expenses. But that’s not all we do! NPCFF also offers transportation grants to help students get to class, pays placement testing and GED exam fees, and provides assistance through our Emergency Fund to help students facing an unexpected crisis.
For several years, NPCFF has also housed a “Mini-Grant” Fund, encouraging students, faculty, and staff at NPC to apply for financial support for new student-supporting initiatives. Funded projects have come from a variety of individuals with a range of impacts, a few of which we are excited to highlight for you here:
- GED Travel ~ Not only do the test fees for GED exams add up, but there are also only two testing locations across the 21,000 square miles of Navajo and Apache Counties. Many students must travel long distances to reach a test site, and with gas prices soaring, this can be an insurmountable obstacle. College & Career Preparation Success Coach Nichole Hendricks applied to NPCFF for a mini-grant to support these students, and NPCFF has now helped remove another obstacle from the path to completing a High School Equivalency.
- Student Success & Outreach – NPC recently established a new department: Student Success & Outreach. Directors Tonya Thacker and Rickey Jackson applied for a mini-grant to support three of their new initiatives: a service-learning river-cleanup project, in-person orientation sessions for new students at NPC, and a series of brownbag lectures on student success. All three of these initiatives will promote student engagement and success, with a special focus on first generation college students.
- Environmental Learning Community Camp Out – Dylan Steigmeier, one of the instructors in NPC’s Environmental Learning Community, requested funding for a camp out at Canyon De Chelly on the Navajo Nation. The NPCFF mini-grant will enable students to participate in land-based learning, a local service project, and exploration of one of the most beautiful, culturally rich sites in Arizona.
