The Community College of Aurora Foundation has announced the recipients of the 2023-2024 Aurora Gives Scholarship. This award gives select Aurora area high school students the opportunity to pursue a community college education debt-free.
To help high school students from the Aurora area pursue college degrees, Aurora Gives works alongside 14 local community partners to pay for the cost of college (tuition, fees, and books) for the scholarship recipients. The program began in 2015 and works on a cohort model. The CCA Foundation says this model allows students to build bonds with each other and gives them a sense of community.
“The whole idea is to support students for whom the cost of college might make them decide to stay home or decide to go directly into the workforce, to take a chance on college,” Britt Davis, of the CCA Foundation said.
Students who apply, first undergo an interview process, and are selected based on various factors. Davis said the goal is to help students earn an associate degree within two years, and then they are encouraged to continue to a four-year university to pursue a bachelor’s degree and beyond.
John Wolfkill, Executive Director of the CCA Foundation touted the success of the program. “85% of Aurora Gives scholars have completed their degree at CCA with 100% enrolling at a 4-year university or moving into full-time employment after CCA,” Wolfkill said. “It’s really great to see our students out in the world doing incredibly well.”
This year’s recipients, the organizations they applied from, and their academic pathways include:
Rosalba R.
Latina’s First Foundation
Associate of Arts, Business emphasis
Pedro E.
Adams 14 Education Foundation
EMT
Jocelyn G.
Boys Hope Girls Hope, Pre-Engineering
Computer Science
Huyen H.
Aurora Public Schools Foundation College & Career Centers
Chemistry, Biology, Healthcare, Nursing Pathway
Kimberly N.
Aurora Public Schools Foundation College & Career Centers
Science, Pre-Engineering, Healthcare, Early Childhood Education
Tanya R.
Aurora Public Schools Foundation College & Career Centers
Bookkeeping, Banking Essentials, Supervision Fundamentals, Human Resources Management
Joselyn C.
Adams 14 Education Foundation
Nursing Pathway
Elizabeth Z.
KIPP Colorado Public Schools
Criminal Justice AA and AAS (Basic Law Enforcement Training Academy)
Guadalupe Z.
KIPP Colorado Public Schools
Associate of Arts, Psychology
Learn more about the CCA foundation HERE. To begin the enrollment process at CCA, click HERE.