Page CCC student Marissa Tsinnajinnie (right) meets with CCC President Colleen A. Smith last summer. Courtesy photo
PAGE — A student at Coconino Community College in Page will be springing to success after receiving a newly created scholarship.
Marissa Tsinnajinnie of Bitter Springs received the first-ever Spring to Success scholarship to attend classes at CCC in Page. The $750 scholarship was specifically created for a CCC Page student to attend in the Spring 2018 semester, said Kay Leum, Director of Special Projects and Grants.
“I didn’t really expect to win, and I am just so thankful for this opportunity,” Tsinnajinnie said.
The funds will help with Tsinnajinnie’s commute to Page to attend classes and to pay for her books, she said. She is currently enrolled in two new “hybrid” classes being offered at CCC Page, which includes instructors teaching at CCC’s location in Page twice a month.
In order to be in the running for the scholarship, Tsinnajinnie was required to turn in an application and write an essay, which she was to turn in during CCC’s “Get the Scoop” event in Page on Dec. 15. The topic of her essay was “What is the value of college education, and how can I personally benefit from a Coconino Community College degree?” Nearly a dozen people submitted applications and essays.
“We were thrilled with the number of submissions and with the overall quality of the essays,” said CCC Page Director Jim Hunter. “We have a fine and deserving group of students.”
Tsinnajinnie, who works at the hospital in Page after graduating from Page High School, is currently studying pre-health careers at CCC. Her ultimate goal is to become a labor and delivery nurse, and she wants to keep her studies as close to home as possible. That is why she takes courses at CCC in Page. She has benefitted from receiving a number of scholarships from the CCC Foundation during her educational career.
“I’m making my dream come true,” she said.
For more information about scholarships available at Coconino Community College, visit the CCC Foundation at www.coconinofoundation.org.
About Coconino Community College: Coconino Community College faculty and staff are dedicated to promoting an environment of excellence to support students. Since 1991, CCC has served residents across 18,000 square miles of Coconino County. The College has helped create the region’s skilled workforce, with the goal of improving the lives of our residents through workforce development and higher education. CCC has served more than 75,000 students countywide, with two campuses in Flagstaff and an instructional site in Page.
CCC provides affordable tuition and a variety of certificates and degrees including career/technical programs with more than 50 certificate programs and two-year associate degrees in various fields. Those fields include nursing, fire science, law enforcement and business. Additionally, CCC has programs that ease student transition to any of the three state universities.
CCC reaches out to the more rural portions of the County including Williams, the Grand Canyon/Tusayan, Page/Lake Powell, Fredonia, Tuba City and other remote areas on the Navajo, Hopi and Supai Tribal Lands. Instructional sites offer classes through online, in-person and Interactive Television classes to meet the needs of students in these rural and remote areas. Nearly 20 percent of CCC’s students are Native American