Hayfork High McConnell Scholarship Winners Announced

The McConnell Foundation announced on April 26 their winners for the 2022 McConnell scholarship: Alyssa DeMoe and Andy Yang.

The McConnell Foundation and their scholarship program “supports students who are willing to make a positive impact in society and their community.” Students who receive the scholarship get $30,000 in scholarship funds and may request $7,500 every year. They do not only receive financial assistance, they also have the Scholarship Program Officer, Dave Tanner, who will advise the student through their academic career. Requirements for applying in the McConnell Scholars Program include living in these counties Modoc, Shasta, Trinity, Tehama, Siskiyou. Along with this the students estimated family contribution should be around $5,846 or less. The McConnell scholarship recipients shared the following:

Andy Yang is going to be attending San Jose State University, majoring in Justice Studies.

“I'm proud of being given the opportunity to pursue a higher education to help my community. I'd like to thank my sister and educators at Hayfork High School for teaching me essential life skills that I will use to pursue my dreams. The journey started from birth where I fought through emotional and external conflicts but ultimately persevered and met many acquaintances along the way. The most difficult thing was learning to love and motivating myself. I'd like to say always try because you never know the outcome. Learn to never give up on yourself and others.”

Alyssa DeMoe is going to Cal Poly HSU, majoring in Social Work.

“I am most proud of my hard work as I have worked without faltering since early September. I would like to thank a handful of people: Sarah Aldinger, Karlie Elliott, Karen Zurita, and Briana Yah-Diaz. They put in time and effort to help me edit and appropriately answer the application questions. They also made me feel comfortable enough to talk about my life story. The journey I took was long and hard but in the end, all the work paid off. My journey with the McConnell Scholarship Foundation started at the beginning of school (early September). The most difficult part was finding time to do it all and managing the stress that came with it. I was working on the McConnell scholarship while I was volunteering my time in the community and reaching my goal of straight A's. The stress that came with everything that was going on in my life was worth all the hard work that I put in. My advice to anyone that will be applying to the McConnell Scholarship Foundation is to put in the work because in the end, it will be worth it. Be confident in your story. It is your story so own it. Do your best and manage your time well.”

Brandon Dunlap and Natalia Hansen from Trinity High were also successful recipients of the McConnell scholarship.