Six Yuroks Gain Griffin Scholarships

Six Yurok students in various academic disciplines were recently named as recipients of the 16th annual Maggie Griffin Scholarship at Humboldt State for the 2007-08 academic year. Jesika Mitchell, a current sophomore majoring in Social Work and 2006 graduate of Hoopa Valley High School, will receive $1,500. In addition to a strong academic performance her freshman year, Mitchell was a member of the HSU women’s rugby team.

Six Yurok students in various academic disciplines were recently named as recipients of the 16th annual Maggie Griffin Scholarship at Humboldt State for the 2007-08 academic year. Jesika Mitchell, a current sophomore majoring in Social Work and 2006 graduate of Hoopa Valley High School, will receive $1,500. In addition to a strong academic performance her freshman year, Mitchell was a member of the HSU women’s rugby team.

The Maggie Griffin Scholarship was established in 1992 by the late Robert A. “Bob” Cook and his wife Glenna to honor Mrs. Cook’s grandmother, Maggie Griffin, who wanted other Yurok people to have educational opportunities not available to her. A ’62 Forestry alumnus of Humboldt State, Bob Cook worked throughout his school years and understood the financial and personal sacrifices required to complete a college education. His experience and later success prompted the Cook family to establish the endowed scholarship fund in memory of the elder Maggie Griffin.

Through the continuing generosity of Glenna and her son, Kirk Cook—and the growing number of qualified Yurok recipients—the number of Maggie Griffin Scholarship awards has increased over the years. Additional 2007 awardees include three previous recipients:

  • Ruthie Maloney, a 2007 Communication graduate of Humboldt State, with a minor in Native American Studies, received the Maggie Griffin Scholarship in both 2005 and 2006. She will use her $1,000 scholarship to enter the Master of Arts in Social Sciences, Environment and Community program in fall 2007.
  • Allyson McCovey, a senior majoring in Communicative Disorders through an HSU distance learning partnership with CSU Fresno, received a Maggie Griffin Scholarship in 2006 and will use her $1,000 scholarship to complete her undergraduate studies in 2008.
  • Winona Aubrey, a senior majoring in Native American Studies and Sociology, also a 2006 Maggie Griffin Scholarship recipient, will use her $750 scholarship to complete her undergraduate studies in 2008.

Two $750 scholarships were awarded to new recipients: Sasheen Colegrove-Raymond, a 2007 graduate of Eureka High School, will enter HSU in fall 2007 as a freshman majoring in Cellular/Molecular Biology; and Arianna McLennan, a senior majoring in Psychology and Native American Studies, will graduate in 2008.

With the announcement of the scholarship awards, Glenna and Kirk Cook said, “It is our pleasure that we are able to help so many promising Yurok students achieve their educational goals.” This is the third consecutive year that all applicants were awarded a scholarship.

For more information about privately sponsored scholarships at Humboldt State University, contact Mary Wells, University Advancement, at (707) 826-5135 or wells@humboldt.edu.