Doyon Foundation hosted the 2016 scholarship award ceremony on September 9 at the Doyon Industrial Facility in Fairbanks, Alaska. Approximately 50 people attended, including 11 scholarship recipients as well as special guests Walter “Wally” Carlo, Dr. Al Ketzer and Geri Simon. View event photos on the Foundation’s Facebook page.
During the ceremony, the Foundation awarded $447,600 in basic and competitive scholarships to 296 students – a $105,600 increase from 2015! The awards included 72 competitive scholarships totaling more than $204,500, which is three times more than the previous year.
Allan Hayton, the Foundation’s language revitalization program director, began the event with an opening prayer. He was then joined by the Foundation’s executive director, Doris Miller, who shared exciting news about a three-year, $900,000 grant from the Administration for Native Americans to benefit the Doyon Languages Online program.
The audience then heard from alumni speaker, Samantha Smith Ervin, who graduated in spring 2011 from the University of New Mexico with a doctor of pharmacy. See a video of Samantha’s address on the Foundation’s YouTube channel.
Following Samantha was student speaker Brooke Wright, a sophomore at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where she is pursuing an associate’s degree in tribal management. Brooke’s speech is also available on the Foundation’s YouTube channel.
The scholarship recipients in attendance then had the opportunity to introduce themselves, and each student shared a touching story about his or her school career.