The American Indian College Fund Names 35 Native American First-Generation Scholars to Receive Coca Cola Foundation Scholarship

Denver, Colo., March 12, 2018 -- The American Indian College Fund and the Coca Cola Foundation honored 35 American Indian scholarship recipients at its 2017-18 Coca-Cola First Generation Scholarship banquet at the American Indian Higher Education Consortium Student Conference in Bismarck, North Dakota.

The Coca-Cola First Generation Scholarship was established for students who are the first in their families to attend college. The scholarships are renewable throughout the students’ tribal college careers if students maintain at least a 3.0 grade point average and show strong participation in campus and community life.

The following tribal college and university students were honored at the banquet for the 2017-18 academic year:

• Aaniiih Nakoda College-Thomas Medicine Bear
• Bay Mills Community College-Alea Ward
• Blackfeet Community College-Laura Kipp
• Cankdeska Cikana Community College-Lisa Jackson
• Chief Dull Knife College-Cross Bearchum
• College of Menominee Nation-Sabrina Hemken
• College of the Muscogee Nation-Lucille Briggs
• Dine College-Felisha Adams
• Fond du Lac Tribal & Community College-Julie Isham
• Fort Peck Community College-Jeromy Azure Jr
• Haskell Indian Nations University-Thomas Berryhill
• Ilisagvik College-Sarah Chagnon
• Institute of American Indian Arts-Lashawn Medicine Horn
• Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College-Joshua Robinson
• Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College-David Butler
• Leech Lake Tribal College-Alicia Bowstring
• Little Big Horn College-Marissa Roth
• Little Priest Tribal College-Shamika Benally
• Navajo Technical University-Dolly Goodman
• Nebraska Indian Community College-Vandy Merrick
• Northwest Indian College-Sheila Cooper
• Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College-Tammy Hammer
• Oglala Lakota College-Lindsay Masquat
• Saginaw Chippewa Tribal College-Jennifer Arnold
• Salish Kootenai College-Irene Augare
• Sinte Gleska University-Johnna Waln
• Sisseton Wahpeton College-Raegina Renville
• Sitting Bull College-Kaylie Trottier
• Sitting Bull College-Helen Wilkinson
• Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute –Genevieve Waquie
• Stone Child College-Jennifer Wolf Chief
• Tohono O'odham Community College-Ashley Jose
• Turtle Mountain Community College –Shania Jeanotte
• United Tribes Technical College –Brittany Whitebird
• White Earth Tribal and Community College-Shelly Weaver

About the American Indian College Fund

Founded in 1989, the American Indian College Fund has been the nation’s largest charity supporting Native higher education for more than 28 years. The College Fund believes “Education is the answer" and provided 6,548 scholarships last year totaling $7.6 million to American Indian students, with more than 125,000 scholarships totaling over $100 million since its inception. The College Fund also supports a variety of academic and support programs at the nation’s 35 accredited tribal colleges and universities, which are located on or near Indian reservations, ensuring students have the tools to graduate and succeed in their careers. The College Fund consistently receives top ratings from independent charity evaluators, and received a four-star rating from Charity Navigator and is one of the nation’s top 100 charities named to the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance. For more information about the American Indian College Fund, please visit www.collegefund.org.

Attachment:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5993a4a3-f835-4d88-a7d5-2aa4dd99fed1

Dina Horwedel
American Indian College Fund
303-430-5350
[email protected]