Foundation adds extra scholarship for local student

A local foundation that supports private education in Yuma County has awarded an additional scholarship for the upcoming school year.

For the past several years, the Pasquinelli Foundation has supported six scholarships over a four-year period for students who wish to enter Yuma’s private Catholic high school, according to a news release from the school. Students each receive $5,000 toward tuition while at Yuma Catholic as long as they continue to meet the scholarship criteria.

This year’s field of candidates was so strong that an additional student was selected, said Bobbi Ukura, YC’s advancement director. This year’s scholarship recipients brings the total number of Pasquinelli scholars to 24 for the upcoming school year.

The students, Ignacio Gutierrez Flores, Jose Godina, Amanda Rogers, Makena Verdugo, Jazmyn Rios, Matthew Thomas and Brannon Weatherby, come from both public and private schools in Yuma County.

“These students have outstanding academic skills, solid faith formation, and strong support from their families, said Gary Pasquinelli, the foundation’s president. “We believe that they will be highly successful at Yuma Catholic.”

Nearly 78 percent of students at Yuma Catholic receive some form of tuition assistance, Ukura said, through Arizona’s corporate tax credit, individual tax credit and donor support. The school ranks in the top 10 in Arizona in providing tuition assistance to students, with over $2.3 million dollars awarded to students last year.

“The need for assistance is very high,” she said.