195 Scholarships for 156 Alaska Students

This year, the Alaska Community Foundation awarded 195 scholarships totaling $1,706,350 to 156 students in communities across Alaska, funding both four-year degrees and vocational training. Behind each of those numbers is an Alaskan with a plan for what comes next.

Rafael Bitanga knows what that kind of support can set in motion. He came to Kodiak from the Philippines at age eight, while his parents worked in the local fish canneries, and he became the first in his family to go to college. He earned his degree at Cornell and is now pursuing a master’s in Learning, Design, and Technology at Stanford, after advocacy work that earned national recognition presented by Michelle Obama.

The Kodiak Electric Association Scholarship, awarded through ACF, covered his living expenses and freed him from working to make ends meet, so he could put his full attention on the work he came to do.

Today he partners with underserved communities to pilot AI-driven learning tools, with plans to widen access to education and take on food insecurity. He credits his family’s sacrifices and the people who invested in his path.

Every scholarship ACF awards starts the same way, with an Alaskan or a local business choosing to invest in someone they may never meet. The Kodiak Electric Association fund is one of many permanent funds at ACF, awarding scholarships year after year so that one gift keeps giving for generations.

This year’s 156 recipients are beginning their own versions of that story, in classrooms and training programs from Kodiak to communities across the state. The funds behind their awards are already at work for next year’s class.