Courtesy image.
As 2023 draws to a close, we pause to reflect on a year filled with meaningful strides and accomplishments.
Building Bright Futures: One Student at a Time
Every student who walks across the stage, diploma in hand, is a testament to our important work and inspires us to keep moving forward. These students are the future of Arizona – and with each degree, we are closer to reaching our state’s Achieve60AZ attainment goal.
Here are just a few of the ways our work has made an impact on students’ lives this year:
Meet Maria and Shaquille, two of our scholars who graduated this fall from Arizona State University and Diné College. With degrees in medicine and business, these students are shaping their futures and the future of our state. More than 100 of our scholars will walk across the stage to receive their degrees this academic year!
Maria Vargas Morales
BS, Medical Studies
ASU Class of 2023
Shaquille Begay
AA, Business Administration
Diné College Class of 2023
Advocating for Education in Arizona
As we champion important education issues, we’re advocating for the economic future of our state. Our team has been hard at work sharing our messages about the Arizona Education Progress Meter and theBillions to Gain Economic Impact Report.
Our Community Impact Managers and our Executive Leadership Team presented to more than 100 organizations. These events provided us with valuable opportunities to inform thousands of Arizonans across the state on the significance of programs such as Dual Enrollment, the Arizona Promise Program, and other initiatives as we work towards our state’s attainment goal. Our voice, messaging and influence reached millions of Arizonans through more than 600 media placements to help amplify these important education issues.
Our media and advocacy efforts in 2023 included:
From Arizona to Ivy League
Our top news story of the year, which gained national attention, highlighted Yuma, Arizona native Rodrigo Guizar Jr. He served as as a College Knowing & Going (CKG) ambassador, inspiring other first-generation students to prepare for college. Rodrigo graduated from Cibola High School with a full-ride scholarship to Columbia University!
Arizona has Everything to Gain!
We launched the Everything To Gain campaign, a movement that showcases the benefits individuals and our state as a whole reap when more Arizonans pursue higher education. In this first year of the campaign, we garnered nearly 300 media stories about this campaign, reaching millions of viewers with this powerful message.
Looking ahead to 2024, the Everything to Gain campaign will unveil never-before-seen data about Arizonans’ perceptions of higher education attainment. The report will serve as a valuable resource for Arizona education and workforce communities and will include critical insights to make post-high school education a reality for more students across the state. Look out for the report in the new year.
Everything we’ve accomplished this year would not have been possible without your support. As we enter 2024, we invite you to join us as we work to move education, and Arizona, forward in the new year!