Bringing an impact to the community around them is what two students from San Juan County are hoping to do with their U.S. Eagle Federal Credit Union Scholarship.
They are selected among four other recipients who will be receiving $5,000 as they continue their education at higher academic institutions.
Recipients are placed in categories of community impact, creativity and innovation, and bullying prevention. This year, the scholarship amount increased from a $2,000 award and selection of three students to six, according to Seville Madrid, marketing communications manager for U.S. Eagle.
Madrid said the submissions this year included a lot of creativity from students and insight to the classroom.
“They will receive some of the most unique scholarships in education as they not only support academic merit but also underscore the fundamental principles of our credit union, built on the philosophy of people helping people,” said Jacqueline Vigil, chair of the scholarship committee. “At U.S. Eagle, we take pride in the impact that we make in the communities we serve, apply creativity and innovation to support our members, and uplift others through encouragement, kindness and inclusion. The scholarships reflect those values.”
Farmington High School graduate Carson Padilla attends Nelson University in Phoenix and is studying a degree in business and entrepreneurship. Padilla was selected under the community impact category for his work with the unhoused population that stemmed from the university baseball team.
Padilla, who is a first generation college student, said he has applied for the scholarship in the past with the support of his mom.
Submitting his application this year was different, he said, as attending school in central Phoenix gave him the idea to provide water and hygiene products to those living on the streets.
“Because homelessness is pretty big where I’m at – I’m in kind of a rough part of Phoenix – and so this past fall me and a couple teammates went out and served our leftover food from a team gathering to the unhoused ,” he said.
Padilla hopes to go into medical billing with his degree and credits his baseball career for his morals around providing for the community on campus and beyond.
“You’ve got to put yourself last and that’s what I’ve seen in like classrooms and this community project – that’s just a big thing that we’ve been taught is that you got to put your brothers first,” he said. “Take pride in taking care of your teammates and the people around you.”
Padilla said he considers the community on campus to be small and finds moments in the city that feel like Farmington. The scholarship will allow for him to collect items for the unhoused population without having a financial burden, he said.
“We were so shocked,” said Padilla, who was with his mom at the time of receiving the email. “Tuition goes up every year, you’re trying to find different ways to get money and try to stay out of student debt, and this was super exciting. It was so surreal.”
In the Vigil Bullying Prevention Scholarship category, another Farmington High School graduate, Saskia Van Maanen, was selected.
The Vigil Bullying Prevention Scholarship highlights students who promote kindness, safety, and support by taking meaningful steps to prevent bullying in their communities.
Van Maanen attends the Florida Institute of Technology where she is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Forensic Psychology and minoring in pre-law.
“Van Maanen is passionate about understanding human behavior and advocating for vulnerable populations,” the U.S. Eagle said in a news release. “She is committed to making a positive impact within the community and helping to create better futures for her generation and those that follow.”
Gavin Francis, graduate of San Juan College High School, earned an Associate of Science degree in Pre-Pharmacy and will study at University of New Mexico in the Pharm. D. Program.
For Francis, the healthcare challenges on the Navajo Nation was his inspiration to pursue the medical field.
“One thing that stood out to me was the mental health of my generation and future generations,” he said. “I think that mental health is a huge issue and I know a lot of it may stem from family history, and just passing that along through generations.”
Francis was raised in San Juan County near the Navajo Nation and plans to use his education to help improve the health and well being of others while making a meaningful difference in the community.
Receiving the scholarship gave Francis the reassurance that his ideas are being heard, he said.
“Having that self determination is crucial in getting yourself through – whether it’s education, issues or struggles,” he said.
Since being enrolled in science courses, Francis said he has also been inspired by the molecular level of how the world works.
“Inside the body and this world – it just really gave me a whole new view or perspective that there’s basically a whole different world,” he said. “I think that realization that there’s so much more happening within our world that just inspired me to keep learning.”
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