Seven New Uplift Scholarship Recipients
We have SEVEN graduates for the 2025-26 school year!
The goal of the Uplift Community Alliance Educational Scholarship Program is to alleviate financial barriers and empower students with demonstrated financial need by providing full tuition scholarships. For the 2025-26 school year, we provided 15 underserved students with scholarships, nine at Salt Lake Community College and six at the University of Utah. Two students graduated after the fall semester, one from Salt Lake Community College and one from the University of Utah. Five students graduated in May: two from Salt Lake Community College and one from the University of Utah
Our biggest success continues to be when students achieve their goals because it transforms their lives. Their own words can best describe how receiving an Uplift scholarship has benefited them.
Brittany graduated from the University of Utah in January and plans to apply to a Physician Assistant school. She writes: “When I was seven, my father passed away, and my mother became a widow. She works at our small-town school, barely earning a minimum wage, which has made it difficult for her to help with any college expenses. That’s why your support has had such a significant and life-changing impact on me. I am beyond grateful! Thank you for investing in me, in students like me, and in the future of the University of Utah. One day, I hope to give back and support students the way you’ve supported me. You’ve inspired me more than I can say.”
Stacy is a May graduate from the U of U and writes: “As a non-traditional student pursuing a degree in Recreational Therapy and a Substance Use Disorder Counselor license, this support allows me to continue transforming my lived experience into purposeful service. This scholarship helps alleviate the financial strain of tuition and living expenses, enabling me to stay focused on my education while supporting my son, who has his own unique needs. Your generous support reinforces my belief in the power of community and the importance of giving back. The work of the Uplift Community Alliance is truly making a lasting impact by helping students like me access higher education and by uplifting entire families and futures. I remain committed to honoring this opportunity by continuing to serve others through compassionate, recovery-oriented care”.
Briana is a May graduate from Salt Lake Community College with a degree in ASL-English Interpreting. She writes “This scholarship is so generous - it will cover the entire cost of my tuition this school year. I have been working two jobs along with being a mom of four kids and going to school. The thought of how to eke out the money to pay for school has been a constant source of stress and often on my mind. When I decided that going back to school was the right move for me, I took a second job as a way to pay tuition. My husband was diagnosed with a brain tumor the year before I returned to school and had surgery to remove it that left him unable to work full-time for about a year. Our family still deals with this financial blow and the side effects of his brain tumor surgery and subsequent brain injury, and we are still a long way from normal. Being gone so much (and subsequently exhausted) has been hard for me and for my children. This scholarship is an answer to my prayers and is so gratifying after all the hard work and sacrifice I have put in so far.”
As we enter our fourth year of the scholarship program, we plan to award 16 scholarships. The U of U will receive six and SLCC will receive ten scholarships. Supporting these students will have a profound impact on their futures, as well as their families and the community.