Hi everyone,

Here is some information that we hope will clarify the Samish Higher Education Assistance Award:

The Samish Higher Education Assistance Award is financial Support available to Samish Tribal Members after high school to further their education in programs such as undergraduate degrees, Master's degrees, and others. Please contact the Education department if you have questions about whether your program is eligible for support. Awards are calculated considering a number of factors including annual budget capacity, number of members participating, and so on.

Note to recipients: All awards received under this program are covered under the IRS ruling regarding General Welfare Benefits for Tribal Members. Under this rule, awards are not considered part of the recipient’s gross income and do not qualify for inclusion by schools during Federal Financial Aid calculations. Here are two IRS sites that provide information regarding the application of this benefit and information regarding Tribes' General Welfare.

Should you need any guidance or assistance understanding these rules, please contact the Education department.

After a successful and highly influential tenure with Samish, Education and Outreach Director Adam Lorio took a position with Western Washington University. We are grateful for the commitment and work that Adam dedicated to our community over the decade he was with us. It is bittersweet to see him go because he is such an important part of our lives and we want him to stay yet we are so happy that he has found a new position in which he can continue to make a positive and lasting impact in the world. Best of luck, Adam!

David Strich was hired as the new Education Programs Manager to support Samish tribal members in their pursuit of learning opportunities. He also plans to work with members and staff to create community partnerships that may increase local Samish support. He comes to Samish after serving as a grant writer and director of after-school and summer programs at a near by school district. David spends much of his personal time with his wife as the two of them try to keep up with their toddler, who is always on the move!

We are always looking for opportunities for our Samish higher education students.  This one was passed along by our Health and Human Services Program, Check it out!
This one includes funding!

Can you say yes to each of these requirements?

• Membership in an American Indian/Alaskan Native tribe
• Must have a GPA of 2.75 or higher
• Must have graduated or be in the process of graduating with a baccalaureate degree in a biomedically relevant science from an accredited US college or university (no more than 36 months prior to applying to UA PREP)
• Must not be currently enrolled in a graduate degree program
• Must plan to enter a PhD program in a biomedical field after successful completion of UA PREP

Find out more about the UA PREP Opportunity Here:
UA PREP Website

It is critical to every student's educational success to see someone that they identfy with in their classrooms.  Especially for Native American student's seeing role models from their community in teaching, administration, para professional and higher education roles improves their perfomance in the classroom and beyond.
There are an increasing number of programs working to train Native American Teachers.
Here is a program and opportunity for funding from Univeristy of Oregon:

University of Oregon Teacher Ed Opportunity
Deadline for 2019-20 Applications: January 15th, 2019
Check it out!

Pursuing Higher Education has become more expensive over the last 20 years.  A full time student in the 70s could work 8-12 hours a week to pay for schooling along with their financial aid package.  Today, many studies say students would need to work 60-80 hours a week to cover the equivelant costs today.

We are always looking for good financial resources for our Samish Higher Education students.  If you know of one, feel free to send it to us so that we can pass it on.

Here is a great link to scholarship opportunities from the Native American Finance Officers Association which Samish is a member of.  Thanks to our great Finance team for passing this along!

NAFOA Scholarships


Article showing the relative cost increases and how many hours students need to work to pay for college:
How many hours students need to work article

Wow, for the first time in a while, we currently have a waiting list of students who have completed applications requesting undergraduate Higher Education Assistance.  For the 2018-19 school year, the entire budget approved by Tribal Council is planned for spending to support our tribal members pursuing studies after High School.  Waitlisted students will be notified immediately if funds become available.  We will continue to accept appplications for the waitlist.  We are grateful every year that Tribal Council chooses to support our students in achieving their academic goals and excited to be supporting so many students this year.
If you have students looking for guidance in pursuing studies after High School don't hesitate to have them contact us.  We love to help.

Hi all, We are working to provide more information for Samish Students at all levels.  We hope that sharing information here is useful.  Please let us know and when you see opportunities, let us know so that we can share them as well.

The American Indian Graduate Center is a great resource and has several scholarships open right now for college students of all levels.

Check out this link for more information:
AIGC Scholarship Information