Retired CCC Science Instructor Bryan Bates received emeritus status from the District Governing Board after serving CCC and students more than two decades. Courtesy photo.
FLAGSTAFF — Coconino Community College students who may have had difficulties with the rigors of college in the past now have a chance to “re-boot” their college careers.
A new Re-Boot scholarship is now being offered at CCC through the CCC Foundation with the generous help of Bryan Bates, emeritus professor who recently retired from the College.
“Rather than losing students to issues they may or may not have had control over, let’s see if we can give them a little nudge so they can help themselves,” Bates said.
Some students stumble, Bates added. And when they do, they don’t have the resources or support to pull themselves up. Therefore, they might never try again at gaining a college degree, which puts them at a disadvantage in the job market.
So, Bates and his wife Barbara, with the help of the Foundation, are offering matching funds of up to $1,000 a year to help as many students as they can receive the Re-Boot scholarship. The scholarship is to help students complete the requirements for an Arizona General Education Certificate, or receive a passing grade in a course in their required major. Students must have a minimum 1.5 grade-point average, and they must create a plan outlining how they will manage their time and energy so they can pass a class if they take it again. Additionally, the students have to contact the former instructor they had when they received a failing grade, share the plan and ask for a short letter of reference stating that they are a good candidate for the scholarship. The scholarship will pay for half the tuition of the class the student is retaking.
“If we can get them through the AGEC, then they’re likely to get through their AA degree,” Bates said.
He also said that the scholarship is his way to help move the needle on the education of people who have grown, or matured, or who have found direction, and, but for a few dollars and an “F” on a transcript, don’t go back to school to improve their lives.
“I am asking for your gift so that we can reignite the fire of learning, earning and caring in another human who can then contribute, yet again, to our community,” Bates said.
People interested in donating to the Re-Boot scholarship may do so by visit 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 learners.