Jaedon Avey isn’t so sure he would have even attended college without the University of Alaska Scholars program. “My family is not well off. The UA Scholars program provided me an opportunity,” explains Avey, a 25-year-old student in the joint UAF-UAA Ph.D. Program in Clinical-Community Psychology. “With assistantships and payment plans, I’ve been able to make it through, so far, without any student loans.” A West High School graduate from Anchorage, Avey had the grades to get into a number of prestigious colleges. Back then, he wanted to be an engineer. But even with scholarships and grants, those schools would have been much more expensive than attending his public university right here in Alaska. The UA Scholars program offers an $11,000 scholarship to the top 10 percent of graduating seniors at every Alaska high school.

Avey took the UA Scholars award and attended the University of Alaska Fairbanks, enrolling in the engineering program. He ended up switching majors because he was intrigued by the field of psychology—an enthusiasm that hasn’t waned in the years since earning his bachelor’s degree in 2005.

“There is such a need for psychologists in our state,” Avey notes. “And if psychology is going to be relevant, it has to be culturally aware.” Avey isn’t so sure where life would have taken him had he not taken advantage of his UA Scholar award. “What I can say is that…I’m happy with where I am.”

Raised in Anchorage, Trevor Hyatt started playing hockey when he was just four years old. When awarded the UA Scholars Award Hyatt was still unsure about college. When offered a position on UAF's division one hockey team he soon realized staying in Alaska had more to offer than he realized. Plus, with UAF's engineering department having an astounding reputation, choosing a major was easy.

Hyatt maintained a hectic schedule but found a balance between his studies and his free time as he maintained a 4.0 grade point average during his time as a student.  In 2008, he was nominated as a Rhodes Scholar. In addition to his academic achievements, Hyatt is also known for his athletic accomplishments on the ice as a member the Alaska Nanooks hockey team. He was named a CCHA Scholar-Athlete for 2006 through 2008, was a Hockey Humanitarian nominee in 2007 and 2008 and was voted to the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Second Team All-American.

Hyatt appreciated the small class sizes UAF offers as well as the opportunity to travel around the country playing his favorite sport. “If you have a strong work ethic and a thirst to learn and understand how things work, engineering is the program of choice at UAF." Hyatt’s hard work paid off as he received the Joel Wiegert Award, which recognizes an outstanding graduating senior man. Hyatt is a member of Tau Beta Pi, Chi Epsilon and the American Society of Civil Engineers.  Hyatt also volunteers with a variety of local organizations including Big Brothers Big Sisters, Habitat for Humanity and the Denali Center. Hyatt received a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering at UAF in 2009 and graduated from the UAF Honors Program.

After graduating from Dillingham High School, Jordan Baumgartner studied science for a year at Eastern Oregon University and ran for the cross-country team. He liked the school well enough, but the UA Scholars Program and the lure of being closer to family brought him back to Alaska. Baumgartner attended the University of Alaska Anchorage and used his UA Scholars award to study geology in New Zealand through a study abroad program. Additional scholarships and summer earnings, along with his Scholars award, allowed the 23-year-old to graduate debt free with a degree in natural science. “Everything was covered,” he said. “That helped me a lot.” Baumgartner is one of many success stories. He received his master’s from the University of Alaska Southeast in Sitka and was a student teacher at Mount Edgecumbe High School. Baumgartner, a Tlingit who was raised in a Yupik community, likes the mix of cultures at the boarding school. He has worked with middle-school students for several years and hopes to teach in Alaska.

Knowing that she would be named a UA Scholar helped Angel Holbrook decide whether to go to college. “I went from wondering if I was going to go, to being sure I was going,” she says. Holbrook graduated from high school in Coffman Cove, on Prince of Wales Island, in a senior class of three. She attended terms at the University of Alaska Southeast in Juneau and at UAA before settling on the UAS Ketchikan campus for its fisheries program. In addition to her Scholars award, other scholarships helped her pay for college. Holbrook earned an associate of applied science degree, as well as a certificate in fisheries technology. She continued her studies and earned a bachelor’s degree in biology at Ketchikan. She worked as a fisheries/hydrology technician with the U.S. Forest Service. She also spent a summer on a Bristol Bay fishing boat which convinced her of the necessity of managing the fisheries. “It’s important and I’m glad to be a part of it,” she says. She definitely plans on staying in Alaska. “I want to live here forever,” she says.

UA Scholar Abraham Tsigonis used his award to attend the University of Alaska Fairbanks, graduating with a degree in chemistry. He’s then attended medical school at the University of Washington via UAA’s WWAMI* program and finished his studies in Seattle . He plans to return to Alaska . "There’s no place like it," said Tsigonis, who has traveled extensively with his family but was born and raised in Fairbanks . The UA Scholars Award played a big part in making his dream of medical school a reality, Tsigonis said. He augmented his award with summer earnings and several other scholarships he received, allowing him to graduate without student loan debt. Tsigonis volunteered about 4,000 hours as an emergency medical technician with the Steese Volunteer Fire Department, handling everything from broken bones and bee stings to diabetic emergencies and asthma attacks. "The highlight, definitely, was delivering a baby," Tsigonis said. "That was fun."