Central Arizona College English faculty provided scholarships to 20 students for the fall 2020 semester. The faculty offered two types of scholarships: book and completion.

For the book scholarship, students had to submit a 250-300 word essay on how CAC has helped them, as a student, achieve their educational goals. Students had to be enrolled in a minimum of six credit hours for the spring semester, achieve a grade of B or better in ENG 101 and have selected a program of study or major.

Fifteen book scholarships were awarded to help students purchase books and supplies at CAC’s bookstores. Each book scholarship was $250. Students who received the book scholarships include:

Signal Peak Campus:

• Chrichelsie Blacksheep, associate of arts, liberal studies
• Jasmine Diaz, associate of arts, liberal studies
• Luis Huerta, associate of arts, liberal studies
• Laney Lupe, associate of arts, liberal studies
• Sesimphiwe Mbatha, associate of arts, liberal studies
• Kimberly Mercado, associate of arts, liberal studies
• Teresita Rascon, nursing AAS

Maricopa Campus:

• Araceli Gonzalez, associate of arts, liberal studies
• Kuukua Sompa Amonoo, associate of arts, liberal studies
• Mason Becker, computer programming AAS
• Kimberly Reteguin, administration of justice AAS
• Johnathan Slaughter, associate of arts, liberal studies

Superstition Mountain Campus:

• Kylie Ramirez, radiologic technology AAS
• Nora Willman, associate of arts, liberal studies

San Tan Campus:

• Briann Young, nursing AAS

“Thanks to the English department and their book scholarship, I was able to pay my tuition off for the rest of the semester which was beyond helpful due to COVID and job loss. It helped me tremendously and really took some of that financial stress away," Kylie Ramirez said.

Araceli Gonzalez expressed her appreciation saying, “As a recipient of the 2020 book scholarship awarded by the English Department at CAC, I am humbly appreciative of the financial support to my education. Due to this generous support, I can continue my studies at CAC with an expected graduation date of 2021 and then a transfer to Arizona State University. Thank you for making this possible.”

The requirements for the completion scholarship were slightly different. To apply, students had to submit a 500-plus-word essay explaining why the funds were needed for completion, maintain a minimum of a 2.5 cumulative GPA, and have between three and 18 credits remaining to complete their degree or certificate.

The completion scholarship was designed to assist CAC students who are close to completing a degree or certificate and in need of tuition assistance. Students were awarded the amount, up to 18 credits, to cover their tuition for their final semester at CAC. Students must have at least a 2.5 cumulative GPA.

Students receiving the fall 2020 completion scholarship include:

Virtual Campus:

• Kaitlyn Mundell, associate of arts, liberal studies

San Tan Campus

• Justin Scott Adams McCaughey, heavy equipment operator
• Ashlyn Allen, associate of general studies

Signal Peak Campus:

• Michaela Laughlin, associate of business

Maricopa Campus:

• Lucila Villarreal, medical lab technician AAS

“I am so thankful for this extra benefit. It helps tremendously at these times. CAC really looks out for their students,” Justin McCaughey said.

“The completion scholarship has allowed me to finish my associates degree without the added stress of financial strain. I can now put forth my earnings towards transferring to the University of Arizona and earning a bachelor’s degree,” Michaela Laughlin said.

“There were a record number of applicants this year — 123 applications for the completion scholarship and 164 applications for the book scholarship,” Karen Hindhede, professor of English and literary art and languages division chair, said.

“English faculty have been able to offer scholarships for four consecutive semesters beginning in spring 2019. A total of 15 completion scholarships and a total of 58 book scholarships have been awarded to help students successfully complete their chosen certificate or degree. Our department is pleased we have been able to assist our students. The money can make such a difference in students being able to complete their educational goals. These students have worked hard and we are so proud of each of them,” she said.

Editor’s note: Angela Askey is CAC’s executive director of public relations and marketing.