RURAL STUDENTS TRIUMPH AS RAHI CELEBRATES NINETEENTH COMPLETION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 28, 2001

Fairbanks, Alaska — The Rural Alaska Honors Institute (RAHI) will honor its students’ academic accomplishments at its 19th graduation exercise Friday, July 6, 2001 at 1 p.m. The ceremony will take place in room 201 of the Natural Sciences Building on the UAF campus.

Forty-nine students from across the state will receive acknowledgement for their academic achievements at the popular summer residency college preparatory program.

A special feature of the ceremony will be Captain Wayne Don, keynote speaker and 1989 RAHI alumnus from Mekoryuk. Don will also be joining UAF’s military science department as an assistant professor this fall. Don, a 1994 UAF graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice and an officer in the U.S. Army, is the first RAHI alumnus to receive a university faculty appointment.

Lucy Gavin of Buckland is one of the students to complete this year’s program. She is the first student to represent second generation participation in the 19-year old village-to-campus bridging program. Parents Eddie and Lisa Gavin are 1983 and 1986 RAHI alumni and also UAF graduates.

RAHI targets rural Alaska Native high school juniors and seniors with at least a 3.0 grade point average to apply for admission, and brings them to the UAF campus for intensive college preparation.

Students learn to become comfortable with campus living while focusing on a six-week curriculum of full credit university courses, featuring writing, study skills, Alaska Native Studies, chemistry, pre-calculus and computer science.

The curriculum is rounded out with courses in swimming and Alaska Native dance. Upon completion of RAHI, students will have a transcript with eight or nine university credits that will apply toward academic degree requirements.

More than 800 students have participated since the program’s start in 1983. Many have completed college degrees, according to program director Jim Kowalsky, and are already in the workforce in a variety of professions, or are working to complete academic degrees. Several are enrolled in law and medical schools or heading toward graduate schools.

"RAHI has assisted many individuals to move toward college success especially by helping them become better students," Kowalsky says. The program has been sponsored by the UAF College of Liberal Arts and will now move to sponsorship by the College of Rural Alaska.

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NOTE TO EDITORS: student list enclosed.

CONTACT: Jim Kowalsky at (907) 474-6886 or e-mail: fyrahi@uaf.edu or visit the RAHI web page http://www.uaf.edu/rahi/ for more information.

JK/CJB/06-28-01/082-01

The 2001 RAHI class

1. Aleta Alstrom - Alakanuk

2. Megan Alvanna-Stimpfle - Nome

3. Sabrina Anderson - Ouzinkie

4. Irving Ashenfelter - White Mountain

5. Logan Bower - Nulato

6. Jamie Bridges - Fort Yukon

7. Patrick "PJ" Brown - Sand Point

8. Thomas Burton - Seward

9. Jacquelynn Byrne - Koliganek

10. Derek Carson Point - Hope

11. Cheryl Charles - Tuntutuliak

12. Tess Christiansen - Old Harbor

13. Denise Coopchiak - Togiak

14. Lena Downey - Ambler

15. Heidi Eckman - Delta Junction

16. Esther Edwards - New Stuyahok

17. Jolene Firmin - Fort Yukon

18. Jenni Flanigan - Skwentna

19. Lucy Gavin - Buckland

20. Rochelle Greenley - Togiak

21. Missy Gumlickpuk - New Stuyahok

22. Dora Hadley - Buckland

23. Shannon Haggitt - Eek

24. Krystal Henry - Akiachak

25. Susannah Howard - Talkeetna

26. Heather Huntington- Galena

27. Carla Jackson - Kwethluk

28. Sheila James - Fort Yukon

29. Nicholai Joekay - Napaskiak

30. Gertie Johnson - Unalakleet

31. Dolly Kiyutelluk - Shishmaref

32. Jacinthe LeCornu - Hydaburg

33. Crystal Lewis - Kwigillingok

34. Ricky Lind - Dillingham

35. Eva Nageak - Barrow

36. Latanya Odden - Willow

37. John OíNeil - Hydaburg

38. Edward Olsen - Cordova

39. Charles Paukan- St. Maryís

40. Marian Petla - New Stuyahok

41. Lacy Plummer - Adak

42. Mandi Reedy - Mentasta Lake

43. Mikayla Saito - Kotzebue

44. Angela Sergie - Togiak

45. Jesse Thomas - Fort Yukon

46. Raegan Thompson - Iliamna

47. Lisa Usugan - Tununak

48. Jerad Vanderpool - McGrath

49. Heidi Wassillie - Togiak