Newsletter - August 2024

Investing in Arizona's Future

New Scholars Start College Journey This Month at Arizona Universities

Introducing our newest cohort of Education Forward Arizona scholars! These incredible students from across Arizona are beginning their college journeys this month at NAU, ASU, UofA, and GCU. Their majors include everything from medicine to engineering and social work.

Native American Scholarship Program - Expanding Support for Master's Degrees

New this year, 15 graduate students will receive up to $10,000 annually, plus mentoring services from Education Forward Arizona, thanks to a partnership with the Freeport-McMoRan Foundation.

Additionally, through this Native American Scholarship partnership more than $2.8 million in scholarships have been awarded to undergraduate students over the past four years.

Applications for the 2025-2026 academic year will open in February 2025 - learn more.

Nathan Becenti

M.S. Architecture

University of Arizona

Arizona FAFSA Summit

The Arizona Board of Regents in partnership with the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) and Education Forward Arizona hosted the 2nd Annual Arizona FAFSA Summit at the Helios Education Foundation this week.

Representatives from the National College Attainment Network (NCAN) along with more than 85 college access professionals, including educators, administrators, policymakers, school superintendents and higher education representatives gathered to create space for vital conversations around Arizona attainment and FAFSA completion efforts.

CEO Rich Nickel Shares Latest Poll Findings

Our latest poll revealed that most Arizonans, regardless of socioeconomic status, understand the importance of education beyond high school. However, significant barriers stand in the way. Education Forward Arizona President & CEO Rich Nickel details these barriers in a recent interview with Arizona PBS - click the video to watch!

Honoring Leadership in Education

Our annual fundraising event, An InspirED Evening, is almost here! Each year, Education Forward Arizona unites individuals and organizations statewide to celebrate educational collaboration and innovation.

We’re thrilled to announce this year's 2024 Luminary Award honoree, APS CEO Jeff Guldner! Mr. Guldner is being recognized for his community involvement and support of education and workforce development in Arizona. We invite you to join us in October when we will celebrate education changemakers across the state.

Explore Sponsorships

Education Forward Arizona Initiatives

Celebrating 3 Years of AdviseAZ

Through our AdviseAZ AmeriCorps program, Education Forward Arizona has placed college students or recent college graduates in high schools to act as near-peer advisers.

As the three-year grant cycle comes to an end, we celebrate the incredible impact of this program and employees Marissa Burton, Johnathon Moore, and Kyle Lundberg for their commitment to student success. Click the video to learn more!

We are proud to share that the program achieved nearly 100,000 service hours at 23 school and community sites across Arizona, and 58% of students served have gone on to enroll in postsecondary education (10% higher than the state average).

Our Advocates Network initiative provides Arizonans a reliable, nonpartisan source of information on key P-20 education issues. We invite you to read our latest Education Explainer on ballot measures and their impact on education in Arizona.

Are you part of our Advocates Network? Join today to stay in-the-know on education issues in Arizona and get access to our monthly Education Power Hours.

In partnership with NCAN and Capital One, Education Forward Arizona hosted eight FAFSA workshops between January and August 2024, helping nearly 300 students.

Ask Benji, Education Forward Arizona’s AI FAFSA chatbot, was crucial in reaching diverse students and families in Maricopa County, providing workshop info and 24/7 FAFSA support.

The Arizona College Access Network (AzCAN), part of Education Forward Arizona, is dedicated to closing Arizona’s education gap. The program is open to college access and success programs and professionals, friends, sponsors, businesses, and foundations who support college access.

Join today to learn about training courses, monthly Lunch & Learn webinars, and much more.

About Us

Everything to Gain

Achieve60AZ