Guinn Scholarship winner selected
Award given to student seeking teaching degree
The fact that Nevada continually ranks last in the country for education doesn’t scare Rikki Boschetti. Instead, it motivates her.
“It makes me want to work here to see if there’s something I can do to help,” Boschetti said. “It presents an opportunity as a new teacher to try and change things.”
Boschetti, a Nevada State College student studying secondary education with a concentration in math, was recently selected as the Southern Nevada recipient of the 2018 Kenny C. Guinn Memorial Scholarship. The $4,500 award goes to two students each year who are pursuing a degree in education and intend to teach in Nevada. The students must also have a strong academic and community service records.
“Rikki is an unusually gifted student,” said Dennis Potthoff, dean of the College of Education at NSC. “There’s a great need for math teachers and she’s demonstrated a very high level of proficiency when it comes to math. Her academic prowess is worthy of recognition.”
Boschetti, 24, began her academic career studying hotel management at UNLV after graduating from Foothill High School in Henderson. But within a week, she realized that that wasn’t her path.
She was able to enroll in time at the College of Southern Nevada and earned her associate’s degree within two years. Boschetti then transferred to NSC in 2015 because of the small class sizes, and has maintained a 3.99 grade-point-average.
“She’s hardworking, organized, motivated and confident,” said Potthoff, who wrote her letter of recommendation. “And she’s demonstrated that she has a great love of kids. I think her academic excellence combined with her personal habits and her love of kids is a pretty powerful combination.”
She’s the third NSC student to receive the scholarship since the program began in 2011. The other NSC recipients are Tobias Torres and Allysa Starkweather.