RURAL HONORS INSTITUTE
SEEKS YOUNG SCHOLARS
AND BASKETBALL PLAYERS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 16, 1998
Fairbanks, Alaska — RAHI, the Rural Alaska Honors Institute, continues its popular college preparatory program next summer with a new twist. For the first time in the 16 year history of RAHI, a basketball skills camp will be offered to qualified RAHI participants. University of Alaska Fairbanks men's basketball coach Al Sokaitis will lead the camp.
Participation in the camp is optional to those who successfully complete the academic portion of the RAHI program. Only those RAHI men and women who finish the program in good academic standing will be eligible to participate in the three-day basketball camp which follows the traditional RAHI graduation on July 10.
Coach Sokaitis has been with UAF since 1996. Before arriving at UAF, he was head coach of the University of Southern Maine. He has coached high school teams throughout the country to state championships and spent more than 10 years conducting summer basketball camps in Alaska. He has worked with he New York Knickerbockers and was assistant coach at the University of Washington and University of California Davis. Along with coaching, Sokaitis developed the REACH (Reach for Excellence through Academics, Competition and Humanity) program for schools.
"We already get terrific students who come to RAHI, but we are missing many of the student athletes, especially the males," said UAF RAHI program director Jim Kowalsky, "and we are trying to get their attention. This is an attempt to also draw them into the college prep experience that RAHI offers."
The six-week campus residency integrates students into the campus academic and social environment before they actually enroll as full-time college students. The RAHI philosophy expects students to stretch or challenge themselves up to college-level work. The RAHI curriculum includes rigorous courses in writing and study skills with electives in mathematics, chemistry, business administration and rural development.
Courses in Alaska Native dance, swimming and internet technology balance out the course offerings along with a social and recreational component that honors and reinforces the diverse Alaska Native cultures that are typically represented within the student body.
All courses are taken for full college credit and count toward fulfillment of baccalaureate degree requirements. Classes may also be used by to complete high school requirements.
RAHI targets Alaska Native students who live in rural villages. Others are also encouraged to apply. Students must presently be high school juniors or seniors with at least a 3.0 GPA and be committed to earning a college degree. The application process is competitive. Those selected to attend participate on a full scholarship worth more than $5,000.
Students build support networks through strong friendships and close ties that they make with one another and with staff and faculty, all of which helps to build a supportive foundation for success later in college. RAHI targets a population of students who historically have had limited access to postsecondary education with limited success, according to Kowalsky. He also says that many RAHI alumni have gone on to earn degrees and are now working in professional fields or are in graduate or medical schools.
Additional information is available on the RAHI web page. Interested students must apply by March 31 and may get applications at their school or by calling RAHI toll-free 1-800-478-6886 or e-mail <fyrahi@uaf.edu>.
CONTACT: RAHI Program Director Jim Kowalsky 1-(800)478-6886 or (907) 474-6886, or by email: fyrahi@uaf.edu. (For more information also see: <http:/www.uaf.edu/rahi/>
DPD/1-16-98/98-030