Tuition waivers, valued at over $50,000, have been awarded to nine All-Arizona Academic Team students from Northland Pioneer College (NPC), to complete their bachelor’s degrees at one of Arizona’s three public universities. The Arizona Board of Regents awards the waivers, for up to 60 credits, to encourage the state’s top scholars to finish their educations. Receiving tuition waivers this year will be NPC students Layton Bauer of Holbrook, Trace Hancock and Jocilyn McCleve of Snowflake, Jessica Austin of Kayenta, Tyler Allen and Angela Colwell of Show Low, John McGaughey of Springerville, Kiarra Yazzie of St. Johns, and Emmalee Hall of Whiteriver. Team members will also receive scholarships from NPC. Growing up on the Navajo Reservation was very difficult but also extremely rewarding for recipient Jessica Austin. A first-generation college student and single mother to three, Austin has been on her own since the age of 16 when her mother passed away. Often working multiple jobs to make ends meet, Austin found her calling while working for the Kayenta School District in the food service department. It was there that she discovered her love for working with young children. “I see children that come from extreme poverty and I know education is a way for these children to be successful in life,” she states. “The children on the reservation face so many challenges and barriers and I would like to do my part in making a difference in their lives.” Austin notes that for many children on the reservation, school is an escape from difficult home lives. While working in the food service department she takes time out of her busy day, which begins at 3 a.m., to greet students by name and get to know them individually. “I wanted to let the children know that someone cares for them and looks forward to seeing them every day, to motivate them to continue to come to school and get an education. I may be just the ‘lunch lady’ to them, but I know I make a difference in their daily routine. They blossomed under the daily attention. It made them feel welcomed and cared for.” Austin plans to attend Arizona State University and eventually earn a Masters Degree in Education and Special Education. She hopes to one day return to the Navajo Nation and enrich the lives of the children who live there. This time as their teacher. It is a passion for the visual, fine and performing arts and for helping others, that sparked All-AZ teammate Jocilyn McCleve’s pursuit of a career path. McCleve plans to attend the University of Arizona and eventually hopes to teach in the arts at the university level. She is a professional photographer and has volunteered her time to helping out creatively with local theatrical and music productions. “I was always determined to succeed,” states McCleve. Having grown up in a large family and realizing the effects of having to make difficult decisions at a young age, she is thankful for the opportunities she has had to help others in their times of difficulty and need. “It has taught me to be humble and grateful for the things I have in my life; a warm home, clean clothes, food on the table, the physical ability to be able to work and the opportunity to pursue a higher education.” McCleve is a mother to three young children and with the help of her devoted husband, works hard to juggle a family while attending school full-time. “I put a lot of work into both areas of my life and I hope to not only be successful in my education and with my career, but also with raising my kids to be great people.” It’s clear to see that for All-AZ member Trace Hancock, learning how to treat, help protect and heal animals is his destiny. Having worked summers on his grandfather’s ranch, from an early age Hancock learned from his grandfather’ s example that “there is nothing you can’t do with a little hard work and sweat.” It has also been said, Hancock notes, “that if you do what you love, you will never work a day in your life.” For Hancock, what “sets his soul on fire” is working with animals. “At only a few months old, I was on the back of a horse. By the age of four, I was helping my family brand and take care of our cows. Working with animals has always made me extremely happy.” His grandfather, recently deceased, played an inspirational role in Hancock’s achievements. “He would push me to give it my all and remind me that a little hard work could go a long way when I struggled with a particularly difficult class. I can hear him say it to me now, ‘you can succeed at anything, if you work at it hard enough.’” Hancock plans to study veterinary medicine at the University of Arizona and one day open and operate his own private practice with a specialization in working with large animals such as horses, cows, goats, pigs and sheep. Teammate Layton Bauer shares a similar interest in working with animals and being outdoors. With aspirations to pursue a career in wildlife and environmental studies, Bauer plans to enroll at ASU to study science next fall. He would like to ultimately work for the Arizona Game and Fish Department helping to monitor and conduct studies on wildlife species. His goal is to lead his own biological research group one day. “I plan to do a lot of research, collecting data, writing papers and observing the ecology and differences between certain environments and the patterns that affect them,” he says. “This is a good path for me because I love analyzing things and figuring out what makes things do what they do. I also want to be working in the outdoors and challenge not only my mind, but also my body.” NPC can nominate two students from each campus and center location to the All-USA team which automatically places the nominees on the All-Arizona Team. To be eligible, a student must have a cumulative 3.5 or higher grade-point average, be working toward an associate degree and demonstrate college or community volunteerism and leadership. These NPC nominees, along with other top Arizona community college scholars, will be honored at a virtual ceremony Thursday, March 4. Visit www.npc.edu for more information on the event. For the past 25-plus years, Arizona has separately recognized the state’s top two-year college students as a part of the All-USA Academic Team program, co-sponsored by the American Association of Community Colleges, Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society (PTK), Follet Higher Education Group, the Coca Cola Scholars Foundation and USA Today.
