The Dustin and Kristen Yoder Memorial Foundation awarded its first college scholarship April 16th, 2007, at a banquet in the Geography, Planning, and Recreation Department at Northern Arizona University. The recipient was Jon David Pierson, who was chosen from a number of highly qualified applicants by the Foundation board. Jon is a trip leader for NAU Outdoors who has volunteered countless hours to conservation corp, youth corp, forest service, and trail association groups, as well as helping rebuild homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. He will be a senior next fall at NAU and is majoring in Parks and Recreation Management. Jon completed a mountain bike ride this summer from Mexico to Canada. See Events page for details on his ride, which he dedicated to the Dustin and Kristen Yoder Memorial Foundation.
The Dustin and Kristen Yoder Memorial Foundation also helped sponsor Mercedes Friend to attend the June 2007 NOLS Alaska Backpacking and Sea Kayaking Course. Mercedes is a 17 year old high school student from Flagstaff, Arizona, who is not only active in the National Honor Society, but is an accomplished swimmer and dancer. She also enjoys rock climbing, mountaineering, and running. She has returned from her course with a renewed appreciation of the great outdoors along with her new skills in guiding and outdoor leadership. According to her trip leaders, “her efforts among the group members brought her to be one of the three final leaders of the expedition”. In Mercedes note of thanks to the Foundation, she wrote “To know that I can safely lead an expedition group of my peers for four days is an experience I don’t think I could have gotten anywhere else. Everything about the trip helped me grow. I can’t express how much your scholarship helped me and meant to me”.
The first scholarship for the NOLS Wilderness Medicine Course was awarded to Juliana Conley for the January 2008 course taught by Pete Walka in Flagstaff. This is a first responder course to prepare anyone who spends time in the wilderness with the necessary skills to stabilize and transport a sick or injured person in a remote area under all types of adverse conditions. Dustin and Kristen were both graduates of Pete’s course. According to Pete, Jules “did an outstanding job during the course” and “demonstrated both the skills and compassion to be a great outdoor leader. She would not have been able to take the course without the support of the foundation”, and he felt it had a “significant, positive impact on her outdoor career”. Jules is a resident of Flagstaff and is very active in guiding and other wilderness activity in the area.
The NAU Foundation in conjunction with the faculty of the Geography, Planning, and Recreation Department at Northern Arizona University awarded their Yoder Outdoor Leader Scholarship for the 2007-2008 school year to Rita Jane Seward.
The 2008 NOLS summer scholarship for a wilderness course was awarded to Kelly Troy.
The Yoder Foundation NAU scholarship for the 2008-2009 academic school year was awarded to Mason Daly. Mason was a junior in the Parks and Recreation Management Program at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff at the time of the award.
A scholarship was awarded to Hannah Baldwin to cover tuition to the January 2009 NOLS Wilderness First Responder Course in Flagstaff, Arizona. According to the course director, Pete Walka, “Hannah did an outstanding job during the course! She brought a bit of experience and a tremendous amount of enthusiasm to the course itself and to the other students in the course”.
The 2009 NOLS summer scholarship for a wilderness trip to Alaska was awarded to Madeline Friend. Madeline is a high school student from Flagstaff, Arizona, and is the younger sister of Mercedes Friend who received the Foundation’s first NOLS scholarship in 2007.
The Yoder Foundation Outdoor Leader Scholarship for the 2009-2010 academic year at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff went to Cashea Arrington. Cashea has an extensive background of outdoor leadership working with the National Park Service and has won multiple volunteer service awards. After graduation in the Parks and Recreation Management Program at NAU in 2010, she is hoping to become a park ranger with the National Park Service.
Scholarships for the 2010 NOLS Wilderness Medicine Institute course for Wilderness First Responders were awarded to Justin ‘Pathe’ Miller and Matthew Jenkins. Pathe is presently a senior in the Parks and Recreation Management program at NAU and is working with the National Park Service as an archeology technician in Walnut Canyon and Wupatki Monument. He plans on using his newly learned wilderness first responder skills this spring when he will be working with the National Park Service in Organ Pipe National Monument. Matthew is currently doing an internship in the Grand Canyon with the Student Conservation Association as a volunteer coordinator and restoration technician. He plans on working as a search and rescue ranger with the National Park Service and wrote that the course was “a wonderful opportunity that would have been impossible without the support of the Yoder Foundation”.
