Lengesot (Take care of all) Health Careers Scholarship

The purpose of the Lengesot (Take care of all) Health Careers Scholarship is to help meet needs of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Canadian First Nations or Inuit or Métis (AI/AN/CFNIM) students to succeed in developing their health career.  To achieve that purpose, at least two (2) renewable scholarships for AI/AN/CFNIM students are offered, of between $500 to $1,000 per year.  One is for a student enrolled at NWIC; the other is for a returning and/or older student with family responsibilities who is enrolled at any accredited college or university.

The health care system has always needed a greater diversity of people, such as AI/AN/CFNIM, to care for the diverse American and Canada populations.  This Scholarship supports development of people going into heath careers, broadly defined.  Health careers include certified nursing assistants, Medex, physician assistants, dental health aide technicians (DHATs), nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives, clinical pharmacists, social workers in a health care, nurses, physicians, chemical dependency and other counselors, etc.

This Scholarship can be used to help cover costs of day care, books, tuition, acquiring special skills, course fees to upgrade skills, rent, transportation, etc.  This Scholarship encourages applicants from all AI/AN/CFNIM tribes, bands, and communities, regardless of the student’s ethnic history, sexual orientation, gender, disability, religion, etc.

Conceptual ideas and initial seed money for the Lengesot (Take care of all) Health Careers Scholarship came from Carolyn Robbins (Alutiiq; Health Planner/Administrator), Bill Freeman (MD, MPH), and Joe Finkbonner (Lummi; RPh, MHA).  They have worked most of their health professional lives with the proud and resilient American Indian people of the Pacific Northwest, especially with the tribes in Whatcom and Skagit Counties or in WA, OR, and ID States.

All money disbursed by this endowed Scholarship comes from the interest on the principal.  The minimum objective is to provide scholarships of $1,000 per year to two (2) new recipients each year, renewable  for up to four (4) years.  An endowment of $200,000 will sustain that objective.  It already has more than one-third of the endowment needed to support the minimum objective!

Please join us to achieve the sustaining $200,000 endowment!

To donate: (1)  Make your check to Northwest Indian College Foundation (Lengesot Scholarship)
and mail to:

Lengesot (Take care of all) Health Careers Scholarship
Northwest Indian College Foundation
2522 Kwina Road
Bellingham, WA 98226