Founded in 2018 in honor of Art Jess, this Native scholarship is available to Alaska residents, with preference given to Chilkat Valley residents, local tribal members, post-secondary students, and past recipients. This is CVCF’s only fund that may be spent outside of the Chilkat Valley. This year we had 44 applications and awarded a total of $8,500 to six students.
Congratulations to past recipient Ashley Williamson, who was Fort Lewis College’s 2024 Cheryl Carson Outstanding Psychology Student, an award given to the department’s top student! Ashley, a 4-time Art Jess Scholarship recipient, graduated this May with a Psychology major, Sociology minor, and a Gerontology certificate. We are proud of her success!
Aubrey Katzeek (Cook), our only Chilkat Valley applicant this year, received $2,000 towards her BA in Elementary Education at UAS, and hopes to return home to teach after graduation. From Fairbanks/Galena, Sydney Dieringer received $1,500; Seward resident Shelby Sieminski received $1,500; Aniak’s Richard Murphy was awarded $1,500; Juneau/Hoonah’s Carlynn Casperson received $1,000; and King Cove’s Carter Uttecht received $1,000. All students plan to return to Alaska to work in the future.