Ten seniors honored for academic achievement, leadership, community service
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The American Indian Graduate Center (AIGC) has announced it’s 11th cohort of the All Native American High School Academic Team (ANAHSAT). The prestigious recognition program celebrates excellent academic achievement among exceptional high school seniors in Indian Country.
“As a country, we look to the 2016 Olympic athletes with admiration and reverence for the discipline and dedication they commit to their sport,” said Joan Currier, Interim Executive Director for AIGC. “Similarly, the students representing the All Native American High School Academic Team represent our nation’s American Indian and Alaska Native students who have achieved incredible academic performance, balanced with leadership and commitment to their communities.”
ANAHSAT honors ten outstanding American Indian and Alaska Native high school seniors from across the country. These high school seniors are selected for the special recognition based on academic achievement, honors and awards, leadership, and community service. Each student receives a monetary award, which may be spent at the student’s discretion.
The ANAHSAT program was established with the intent to increase awareness of academic achievement of Indian high school seniors among their peers, Indian Country and the public, and to increase recognition of Indian student success and capabilities as a positive motivation for pursing academic excellence and higher education. The program also aims to increase academic achievement and role models as positive influences in Indian Country, alongside increasing teacher, administrator, parent and community involvement by recommending, nominating and supporting student participation.
“On behalf of AIGC and the thousands of students and alumni in our organizational community, congratulations to the 2016-2017 AIGC All Native American High School Academic Team!” said Currier.
The 2016 recipients include:
Clifford Courvoisier (Navajo Nation)
High School: Cloudcroft High School, 4.47 GPA
Pursuing a bachelor’s degree at Harvard University in Neuroscience.
Grayson Henley (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma)
High School: Ashley Ridge High School, 3.40 GPA
Pursing a bachelor’s degree at the University of South Carolina in Business.
Dalton North (Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation)
High School: Beaumont High School, 4.0 GPA
Pursuing a bachelor’s degree at Pomona College in Computer Science/Information Systems.
Teata Oatman (Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation)
High School: Nixyaawii Community School, 3.79 GPA
Pursuing a bachelor’s degree at the University of Idaho in Early Childhood Education.
Sha’Teal Pearman (Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne River Reservation)
High School: Cheyenne Eagle Butte High School, 3.88 GPA
Pursuing a bachelor’s degree at South Dakota State University in Agriculture.
Samaya Small (Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation)
High School: Rio Rancho High School, 3.2 GPA
Pursuing a bachelor’s degree at the University of New Mexico in Business/Government.
Megan Thomas (Penobscot Tribe of Maine)
High School: Classical Academy High School, 3.79 GPA
Pursuing a bachelor’s degree at Azusa Pacific University in Biology.
Grant Tiger (Standing Rock Sioux Tribe)
High School: Riverside High School, 3.66 GPA
Pursuing a bachelor’s degree at North Carolina State University in Biomedical Engineering.
Chase Warren (Standing Rock Sioux Tribe)
High School: Standing Rock High School, 4.00 GPA
Pursuing a bachelor’s degree at Yale University in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology.
Kiana Wood (Chinik Eskimo Community (Golovin))
High School: Hutchison High School, 3.97 GPA
Pursuing a bachelor’s degree at the George Fox University in Nursing.
(The All Native American High School Academic Team program was created by AIGC with a grant from the Tommy Hilfiger Corporate Foundation and is currently maintained with private funds.)
– About the American Indian Graduate Center: AIGC is a national organization, based in Albuquerque, NM, providing educational support through scholarships since 1969. AIGC is a national provider of scholarships for American Indian and Alaska Native graduate and undergraduate students and has awarded more than $52 million in scholarships in the 47 years since its inception.