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

Denver, Colo., March 12, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 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 http://www.collegefund.org.

https://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/18/03/g11347988/the-american-indian-college-fund-names-35-native-american-first-genera