Arizona Awards $87K in Scholarships to 20 Students

Twenty Arizona students are heading into the 2026-27 academic year with something powerful: financial support that will help them achieve their dreams without the crushing weight of debt.

The Empowering Diversity Scholarship, a partnership between Fiesta Sports Foundation and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, just awarded $87,500 to students across the state. Fifteen high school seniors and current college students each received $5,500, while five more Arizonans got $1,000 to help them earn their GED.

Since launching in 2020, the program has now supported 164 Arizonans with a total of $627,000 in scholarship funding. The support goes beyond just money, too. Recipients get wraparound services from organizations like Be A Leader Foundation and Education Forward Arizona to help them succeed.

This year's winners come from four Arizona counties and are headed to schools including Arizona State University, University of Arizona, Northern Arizona University, and Grand Canyon University. Their planned careers span medicine, engineering, nursing, and skilled trades.

Take Ameen Abdul-Jawad, who graduated valedictorian and is studying electrical engineering at the University of Arizona. He plans to combine his technical skills with nonprofit work to build economic empowerment in marginalized communities. For him, the scholarship means he can pursue his education without taking interest-bearing loans that would conflict with his faith.

Or Alaina Andrews, a chemical engineering student at ASU who founded Stand Tall: Scoliosis Education & Awareness after her own spinal fusion surgery. She's already helped raise funds for a freshwater well in Eswatini and plans to focus her engineering career on clean water access in underserved communities.

The Ripple Effect

These scholarships matter because Arizona is the 10th most diverse state in the country, yet many talented students still face financial barriers to education. By removing those obstacles, the program isn't just changing 20 individual lives. It's investing in future doctors who will serve their communities, engineers who will solve water access problems, and leaders who will lift others up behind them.

Paul Penzone, Chief Community Relations Officer at AZ Blue, says these scholars have shown deep commitment not just to their own futures, but to the communities around them. That's exactly the kind of investment that creates lasting positive change.

Arizona's next generation of changemakers just got the support they need to soar.