Students throughout central Navajo County will have one less voice of support and encouragement with the passing of Prescott Winslow on June 17.
Winslow moved to the City of Winslow 10 years ago and knew well that students in this region struggled not only against poverty, but also faced a lack of opportunity to reach their true potential.
Since coming to the city, Winslow volunteered countless hours in the Winslow Unified School District to assist students as they sought scholarships, applied for college and strove to improve academically. Winslow devoted his time to help students write admissions essays that set them apart from other applicants and allowed them to be accepted to such prestigious colleges and universities as Columbia and Dartmouth, and obtain scholarships such as the Dorrance Merit Scholarship and Gates Millennium Scholarship.
“Pres was always willing to help at the high school in multiple capacities,” stated Renell Heister, who was employed as head counselor at Winslow High School. “When it was time to apply for scholarships, we would get really busy. The busier we got, Pres would step in and become very active in helping students with final drafts on admissions essays. He always understood exactly what a student should include in an essay,” she said.
Heister noted that he also sat on practice interview panels for students applying to some of the more challenging colleges and universities. “He was willing to do almost anything and he was never paid. He had such a servant soul. He really enjoyed giving and in my mind, that was all he was about,” she said.
She explained that Winslow not only helped at the school, but also provided tutoring after school at the residence hall. “We had students that had taken the AIMS four times and failed, and you can only take it five times. Because of him, they would pass. We live in an area of limited services. We don’t have a lot of resources. Pres really had a heart to serve students in need,” Heister concluded.
Shannon Vasquez has taught several grades in the school district and Winslow was always available to help. “This last year I taught seventh grade and I don’t think that there was a day that he wasn’t in my classroom helping out. School was out at 2:30, but he’d stay on until 4:30 tutoring kids,” she recalled. “He just wanted kids to be successful and he’d give the shirt off of his back to do it. He was retired and didn’t have much, but if a kid needed a pencil, he had one; if their hands were tired from writing, he’d hand them a rubber gripper to put their pencil in. Always right out of his own pocket.”
Vasqeuz noted one student who was struggling and approached Winslow for help. “She was getting an F in the third quarter. By the fourth quarter, she was getting a B, with a C for the semester. It just gives me the chills, he was so awesome. He was basically the best volunteer ever,” she said.
Winslow High School Principal Chris Gilmore said Winslow was active right up to the end. “The week before he passed, he was doing mock interviews with Caitlyn Rundquist before she went to compete for Miss Arizona Outstanding Teen,” recalled Gilmore, noting that Caitlyn made the selection of the top 11 contestants.
“He was always bragging about the students, keeping up with them even after they went on to college. He stayed in contact with them and made sure they were able to keep going to school. He came to every event and every performance, no matter what it was just because he cared,” said the principal.
Gilmore admitted that when Winslow began his volunteer work at the school years ago he wondered if at some point he would want some sort of compensation for all of his time, but that never happened. “He never wanted anything, just to see the kids to succeed,” he said.
As much as Winslow gave to the Winslow School District, that wasn’t the only district he served. He assisted students at Holbrook High School and was a member of the Navajo Community College District Governing Board.
In a statement following his passing, College Board Chairman Ginny Handorf said of Winslow, “Pres was a true gentleman, an honorable patriot, a steady supporter of youth, and an honest and esteemed member of our board. We will all miss him dearly.”
Although Winslow will be greatly missed, it’s apparent he will not be forgotten, as his efforts helped to mold the future of many of the county’s brightest students, affecting generations to come.
