November 2024

Student Painters & Vintners Share the Fruits of their Labors

YC Winemakers and artists come together for Viticulture Exhibit, Sept. 17 at Prescott Gallery

Prescott, Arizona (August 30, 2024) – When an art class and a working vineyard came together for a study project, they created something surprising: a multi-disciplinary celebration of the grape, the harvest and the fascinating world of wine. Yavapai College presents Viticulture Art Class Exhibition. Sept. 17 – Oct. 2 at Yavapai College’s Prescott Campus Art Gallery.

This engrossing collection of acrylic landscape paintings came from students of the College’s ART 298 class, under the instruction of painter Ken Ottinger. Ironically, the works sprang from a class project with an entirely different aim.

“This class was created with input from Ken, who wanted to give his students an experience of being commercial artists.” Yavapai College Visual Arts Dean Bryan Robertson explained. “The class focused on working with a client, [YC’s] Southwest Wine Center, to craft paintings and artwork that were marketable as fine or graphic art.”

Working from Southwest Wine Center photos, SWC wine labels, and examples of fine and graphic art, students created a compelling collection of paintings capturing the SWC’s Verde Campus Vineyards and the winemaking processes at work there. “This project is a wonderful collaboration between the SWC and Visual Art Department – and a way for visual artists to gain experience in producing and marketing their work.”

The Viticulture Art Class Exhibition will also feature paintings from Ottinger’s Spring 2024 Viticulture Art Class.

The Viticulture Art Class Exhibition will be presented at Yavapai College’s Prescott Campus Art Gallery located inside the Jim & Linda Lee Performing Arts Center at 1100 E. Sheldon Street, on the Yavapai College Prescott Campus. The Gallery is open 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Admission is free. For exhibit schedules or more information, please call: (928) 776.2031 or visit: www.yc.visualarts.com.

Fifteen YC Nursing and Radiology Students Awarded Full-Tuition Scholarships Funded by Partnership of Area Philanthropists, Healthcare Organizations

The largest cohort in the Community Healthcare Scholarship’s 12-year history recently celebrated the program’s phenomenal success and the addition of 15 more Yavapai College Nursing and Radiology students to its recipient roster.

The fall 2024 recipients of the full-tuition scholarship, the result of the longstanding generosity of area healthcare organizations, community foundations and individual philanthropists, are:

YC Radiology students: Christopher Cox and Megan Leiss.

YC Nursing students: Ryan Contreras, Paris Dera, Luke Gale, Nicole Garcia, Michael Gonzales, Daisy Hacker, Doreen Kiyaani, Sarah Lawrence, Leigh Ann Lopez, Pilar Lopez, Erika Moore, Raven Paccioni and Rebecca Marie Renti-Cruz.

The partners in the Community Healthcare Scholarship Program are: the Yavapai College Foundation, the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Prescott, the Margaret T. Morris Foundation, Dignity Health/Yavapai Regional Medical Center, the Harold James Family Trust, Prescott Radiology Group, Fain Signature Group, Beck Legacy Group, and Mike and Tammy Fann.

The scholarship program’s 20^th and largest cohort was feted Aug. 28 during a celebration at the YC Prescott campus featuring congratulatory and inspirational speeches, the scholarship program’s origin story, and the presentation of engraved stethoscopes to the nursing students and markers to the radiology students.

Recounting the origin story, Dr. David Hess, a retired cardiologist and the Community Healthcare  partners’ spokesman, shared that the late philanthropist Seymour Baskin of Prescott, was the catalyst in 2012 when he inquired with the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Prescott about investing in healthcare and education in the community. A retired attorney and U.S. Navy veteran who was raised in an orphanage during the Great Depression, Mr. Baskin donated anonymously to many education causes throughout his life, including his former orphanage. His estate granted Hess permission to use his name and honor his legacy for the first time to address the 20^th Community Healthcare Scholarship cohort. Hess paid tribute to Mr. Baskin and the scholarship program’s partners as the strongest of healthcare and education advocates.  “They know how to choose students that can do this work, that’s why the graduation rate is so high…,” Hess said. “You can do the work. It will be hard, but you have family and a great school to support you…You can do this work and two years from now I want to watch each of you graduate.”

The Community Healthcare Scholarship Program’s success is evident in the 215 scholarships awarded to date resulting in a 93-percent program completion rate and the fact that 90 percent of program graduates are pursuing their careers locally, said Mary Talosi, Executive Director of the Yavapai College Foundation. Acknowledging that “the bar has been set” by their predecessors, Talosi reminded the newest Community Healthcare scholars that the program’s donors – most of whom attended the celebration -- are 100 percent in their corner. “They believe in you. They care about you and they want you to succeed.”

Other celebration speakers emphasized the uniqueness of the Community Healthcare partnership and the support recipients receive from day 1 of their education journeys.

“This is the best thing that I have ever seen in all of my years in higher education, in nursing and in the community college system,” Dr. Marylou Mercado, YC Vice President of Workforce Development and Health Sciences, said of the healthcare scholarship. “It is the greatest gift that you all have received. I know you worked hard for it and you have very much earned it or you wouldn’t be sitting here today.”

Dr. Barbara Durham, Associate Dean of Nursing at YC, said the road ahead for the scholarship recipients won’t be easy, will likely be bumpy, but that college leaders, faculty and staff stand ready to smooth the way. “It’s really important to know when to ask for help, more importantly to give yourself permission to ask for help,” she said. 

Tracy Rogers, Director of Radiology at YC, expressed deep gratitude to the scholarship donors saying, “your generosity has had a profound impact on our students’ lives and it’s not just about the financial support, it’s about the belief that you’ve shown in these students and their potential.”

Tracy McCollum, Chief Nursing Officer at Dignity Health/YRMC and a member of the YCF Executive Board, gave the nursing and radiology students powerful encouragement, telling them, “we want to hire every one of you. We really do need to continue to bump up our workforce in healthcare and especially here in the communities we serve.”

For information about scholarship giving opportunities through the Yavapai College Foundation, visit www.yc.edu/ycf.

For information about the YC nursing program, which now offers both associate and bachelor’s degrees in nursing, visit www.yc.edu/nursing. For information about the YC Radiology Program, visit www.yc.edu/radiologywww.yc.edu/radiology.

Yavapai College operates six campuses and centers throughout Yavapai County and offers more than 100 degrees and certificates, two baccalaureate degrees, student and community services, and cultural events and activities.

To learn more about YC, visit www.yc.edu

$50,000 Raised in Matching Grant Donation Challenge to Benefit the

Del E. Webb Family Enrichment Center at Yavapai College

 In July, the Yavapai College Foundation announced a 30-day, $25,000 matching grant donation challenge to help with scholarships and operations of the Del E. Webb Family Enrichment Center (FEC), thanks to a generous donation from Yavapai College District Governing Board member, Ray Sigafoos.

 That challenge successfully ended August 14, securing $50,000 in funds for the FEC from individual donations as well a generous donation from the Margaret T. Morris Foundation.

 “FEC families and staff could not be more grateful for Ray's donation and recognition of the importance of access to high-quality early childhood education opportunities,” said Tara O’Neil, Yavapai College Education and Early Childhood Education Program Director and interim Director of the FEC. “We are also so appreciative of the support of the community and donors that stepped up to meet (and match) the challenge. Thank you!”

 The FEC is a child development center located on the Prescott campus of Yavapai College. It provides a safe, nurturing, child-centered program that focuses on promoting children's learning. As a laboratory school, the FEC provides a setting for Yavapai College early childhood education students to develop the skills and competencies necessary for careers with young children. Learn more about the FEC online at www.yc.edu/fec.

 The Yavapai College Foundation strives to unlock the potential within each student, helping them to achieve their dreams through education. The community's generosity enables the Foundation to provide the essential resources and support needed for student success. Go online to www.yc.edu/ycf to learn more about the Foundation and to make a donation.

 Yavapai College operates six campuses and centers throughout Yavapai County and offers over 100 degrees and certificates, two baccalaureate degrees, student and community services, and cultural events and activities. To learn more about YC, visit www.yc.edu.

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