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

March 18, 2019, Denver, Colo.— The American Indian College Fund and the Coca Cola Foundation honored 36 American Indian scholarship recipients at its 2018-19 Coca-Cola First Generation Scholarship banquet in Billings, Montana.

The Coca-Cola Foundation has awarded nearly $5 million to the College Fund since 1990, helping more than 375 students to attend college. Native students who are the first in their families to attend college are eligible for the scholarship, which is renewable throughout the students’ tribal college careers if they maintain a 3.0 grade point average and are active in campus and community life.

The following tribal college and university students were honored:

• Aaniiih Nakoda College, Rose Mary Antone

• Bay Mills Community College, Alea Ward

• Blackfeet Community College, Janet Blackweasel

• Cankdeska Cikana Community College, Lisa Jackson

• Chief Dull Knife College, Bryan Harris

• College of Menominee Nation, Anthony Chevalier

• College of the Muscogee Nation, Tevin Phillips

• Diné College, Kathleen Begay

• Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, Curtis Rainey

• 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, Terri Curtis

• Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College, David Butler

• Leech Lake Tribal College, Candace Jacobs

• Little Big Horn College, Kimberly Fourstar

• Little Priest Tribal College Kylie McKinley

• Navajo Technical University, Loren Tsosie

• Nebraska Indian Community College, Vandy Merrick

• Northwest Indian College, Michael Howling Wolf

• Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College, Tammy Hammer

• Oglala Lakota College, Tada Vargas

• Oglala Lakota College, Lindsay Masquat

• Red Lake Nation College, Rhianna Cloud

• Saginaw Chippewa Tribal College, Lynette Smith

• Salish Kootenai College, Annie Evans

• Sinte Gleska University, Sarah Zephier

• Sisseton Wahpeton College, Mickala Barnett

• Sitting Bull College, Kaylie Trottier

• Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, Victoria Nofchissey

• Stone Child College, Kendal Chandler

• Tohono O'odham Community College, Stephanie Begay-Garcia

• Turtle Mountain Community College, Raeann Morin

• United Tribes Technical College, Brittany Whitebird

• White Earth Tribal and Community College, Candace Potter

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 30 years. The College Fund believes “Education is the answer" and provided 5,896 scholarships last year totaling $7.65 million to American Indian students, with more than 131,000 scholarships and community support totaling over $200 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 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.