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Scholarships Udall Scholarships In 2014, the foundation expects to award 50 scholarships of up to $5,000 and 50 honorable mentions to college sopho- mores and juniors committed to careers related to the environment, Tribal public policy or American Indian health care. Scholarships are offered in any of three categories: • • To students who have demonstrated commitment to careers related to the environment, including policy, engineering, science, education, urban planning and renewal, business, health, justice, economics and other related fields To American Indian and Alaska Native students who have dem- onstrated commitment to careers related to Tribal public policy, including fields related to Tribal sov- ereignty, Tribal governance, Tribal law, American Indian education, Oregon Community Foundtion scholarships • American Indian justice, natural resource management, cultural pres- ervation and revitalization, American Indian economic development and other areas affecting American Indian communities To American Indian and Alaska Native students who have demon- strated commitment to careers related to Native health care, including health care administration, social work, medicine, dentistry, counseling, research into health conditions affect- ing American Indian communities and other related fields. Please coordinate with your faculty representative to obtain access to the online application and submit all materi- als by your college or university deadline. The deadline for submission of the online application is March 5, 2014. For more information, visit udall.gov. OSAC Scholarship Season From the January 2014 issue of Educa- tion Update, Oregon Dept. of Education Students planning to attend college next fall are encouraged to apply online during the Oregon Student Access Com- mission (OSAC) scholarship season. OSAC provides students with one online application to select from among more than 450 scholarship opportunities administered by the agency. To search for and apply for scholar- ships, students can visit OSAC’s website at oregonstudentaid.gov. Click on the scholar- ship link to access the application and search for scholarships to add to the application. The deadline to submit the OSAC online scholarship application is March 1. The Oregon Community Founda- tion (OCF) annually awards more than $7 million in scholarships to Oregon students through its statewide scholar- ship program. Two of these scholarships are targeted specifically to American Indian students. Verl and Dorothy Miller Native American Scholarship Eligible students include American Indian residents of Oregon attending or planning to attend an accredited trade or vocational school in Oregon. The awards are for $1,500-$3,000 per year. Students can apply and compete for the scholarship for up to four years. Howard Vollum American Indian Scholarship Eligible students include American Indian residents of Clackamas, Mult- nomah, Washington and Clark counties seeking post-secondary education or training in science, technology, engineer- ing or mathematics. The awards are for $3,000 per year for up to five years of undergraduate study and two years of graduate study. Criteria for both scholarships • • • • Participation in school or community activities Personal accomplishments or achievements Preference given to students who have a demonstrated commitment to and involvement in the American Indian community Open to students with a certification of Tribal enrollment or descendents of enrolled members How to Apply: Applications and instructions are available on OCF’s web- site at oregoncf.org/receive/scholarships/ scholarship-opportunities. Deadline: Applications are due March 1 for the next academic year. Questions: Call OCF scholarship staff at 503-227-6846 or email mchee@ oregoncf.org. For additional scholarship opportuni- ties, visit oregonstudentaid.gov/. Tribal RV parks have space available for you Logan Road RV Park, Lincoln City, Ore. – loganroadrvpark.com/877-LOGANRV Hee Hee Illahee RV Resort, Salem, Ore. – heeheeillahee.com/877-564-7295 Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma one of first five Promise Zone designees WASHINGTON – The U.S. Depart- ments of Agriculture (USDA) and Hous- ing and Urban Development (HUD) announced on Jan. 9 the five inaugural U.S. communities that have been desig- nated as Promise Zones, an intensive and layered approach to revitalizing distressed communities. The Promise Zones will benefit from a comprehensive approach to development that will enhance and connect local assets ranging from schools to housing to jobs. The first five Promise Zones – located in the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, San Antonio, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Southeastern Kentucky – have each put forward a plan on how they will leverage federal partnerships and resources in the most effective ways possible to improve their communities. In exchange, these designees will be able to access federal investments in order to achieve their goals. These five Promise Zones are part of the 20 that will be announced over the next three years. These unique partnerships sup- port local goals and strategies with: Accountability for clear goals: Each Promise Zone has identified clear out- comes they will pursue to revitalize their community, with a focus on creating jobs; increasing economic security; expanding access to educational opportunities and quality, affordable housing; and improv- ing public safety. All Promise Zones will continuously track those outcomes and have committed to sharing data across their community partners (private sec- tor, nonprofits, federal, state and local agencies, etc.) so each partner can work toward improvement and accountability. The administration will work with the Promise Zones and third-party experts to track progress and evaluate results. Intensive federal partnership: Each Promise Zone will receive federal staff that will work on the ground, side-by-side local staff, to help communities break down regulatory barriers, use existing funds more effectively and implement their economic visions. Modeled after the administration’s successful Strong Cities Strong Communities and Strike Force for Rural Growth and Opportunity initiatives, which have created unique partnerships between local stakeholders and the fed- eral government, these first five Promise Zones will benefit from intensive federal support at the local level. Help accessing resources: Where necessary to achieve their goals, Prom- ise Zones will be able to access federal investments that further the goals of job creation; additional private investment; increased economic activity; improved access to educational opportunities and quality, affordable housing; and reduc- tion in violent crime. Promise Zones will receive priorities in accessing resources required to carry out their strategic plan from up to 10 agencies, includ- ing the Corporation for National and Community Service; the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Justice, Labor and the Treasury; and the Small Business Administration. National service: Each Promise Zone will receive five full-time Ameri- Corps VISTA members to support their strategic plan. These VISTAs will recruit and manage volunteers and strengthen the capacity of Promise Zones to expand economic opportunity. Investing in what works: In order to be designated as a Promise Zone, these five communities already have demon- strated they are pursuing evidence-based strategies to improve identified goals and outcomes and have realigned their own state and local resources to meet these goals and outcomes. In short, these Promise Zone designees already are investing in programs and partnerships that have data proving their effectiveness. This same data also will help direct future federal investments to these zones. Cutting taxes for businesses: Finally, President Obama has proposed cutting taxes on hiring and investment in areas designated as Promise Zones – based upon the proven model of Empow- erment Zones tax credits – to attract businesses and create jobs. Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma’s key strategies Improve skills for tomorrow’s jobs through workforce training for skilled trades and professionals and more rigor- ous summer and after-school programs. Leverage its role as the largest employer in southeastern Oklahoma to create a strong base for economic revitalization by working with partners like Oklahoma State University, Eastern Oklahoma State College and the Kiamichi Technology Center to improve workforce training for skilled trades and profession- als, with a focus on providing nationally recognized STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) certifications. Invest in infrastructure that lays the foundation for economic growth, including water and sewer infrastructure. These infrastructure challenges have been identified as impediments to invest- ment in an area with otherwise strong growth potential. Improve educational outcomes by working across 85 school districts throughout the region to share data for continuous improvement and bolster early literacy and parent support programs. Pursue economic diversification by utilizing natural, historic and cultural resources to support growth, including evaluation of market capacity for local farmers’ markets, as well as implemen- tation of technology-enhanced “tradi- tional” farming/ranching and large-scale greenhouses, and specialized training in business plan development, marketing and financing to support the develop- ment of women-owned businesses in the Promise Zone. February 2014 • SiletzNews • 15
