Oil Patch Bits: Calista provides $177,750 in scholarships

The Calista Heritage Foundation announced that $177,750 in scholarships was distributed to 203 students for the spring semester. To-date more than $3.5 million in scholarships have been awarded. All scholarship recipients are Calista Corp. shareholders or descendants.

For this spring semester 6 percent are in graduate programs, the average GPA is 3.19 and 41 of the 56 villages in the Calista region are represented. More than 80 percent are recipients of the fall 2013 scholarship distribution.

The top five fields of study this semester are business, nursing, biology and health, education and engineering. The top five schools students are attending the University of Alaska Anchorage, UA Fairbanks, AVTEC in Seward, Alaska Career College and Alaska Pacific University.

“It is exciting to see a technical field like engineering make the top five majors,” said Calista Heritage Foundation President Rea Bavilla. “As we begin preparing for the annual Golf Classic, the main fundraiser for the scholarship program, we would like to remind local and state businesses that nothing compounds interest like education.”

Registration is open for the 15th Annual CHF Golf Classic, which sells out each year. Sponsorships are also available. It will be held June 18 at the Moose Run “Hill Course” at Arctic Valley near Anchorage. For more information please visit CHF’s website at www.CalistaHeritage.org.