R661-18-1. Outstanding Senior Award Program

  (1) The Outstanding Senior Award Program (OSAP) is established to identify and acknowledge excellence exhibited by eligible Navajo high school seniors.

  (a) Eligibility

  (i) Applicants must have a GPA of 2.5 or higher.

  (ii) Applicants can attend school outside of San Juan County and/or Utah, however, an applicant's parents must be eligible for UNTF funding.

  (b) Maximum Award is $600.00

  (i) $100.00 will be awarded at graduation with a Certificate of Recognition.

  (ii) The remaining $500.00 will be sent to the student after he/she has registered and has verified enrollment in a post-secondary school.

  (2) Each Utah Chapter, including the Blue Mountain Dine' Community, may recommend students to UNTF for consideration for receipt of the award by the Selection Committee. The applicant, or a Chapter, may also contact the student's high school or UNTF Staff to make recommendations of award recipients to the Selection Committee.

  (a) Selection Process

  (i) The Selection Committee is be comprised of at least one of the Dine' Advisory Committee Education Sub-Committee members, a local high school administration official, and UNTF staff.

  (ii) The Selection Committee shall review applications and shall select students from each Chapter and the Blue Mountain Dine community as follows:

  (A) Aneth (2)

  (B) Dennehotso (1)

  (C) Mexican Water (1)

  (D) Navajo Mountain (1)

  (E) Oljato (2)

  (F) Red Mesa (1)

  (G) Teec Nos Pos (1)

  (H) Blue Mt Dine Community

  The distribution is related to Chapter affiliation, not location of the high school.

  (iii) The Selection Committee must have three committee members present to conduct interviews and evaluations.

  (iv) The Selection Committee shall forward the number of selectees from each Chapter to the Dine' Advisory Committee, which will forward its recommendations to the UNTF Board of Trustees for approval.

  (b) Application Process

  (i) The student must submit a portfolio which shall include:

  (A) Residency Verification form signed by the student's Chapter;

  (B) A high school transcript showing the student's GPA;

  (C) A copy of college acceptance letter(s);

  (D) A list of and explanation of student's extracurricular activities and/or voluntary service projects performed during high school (grades 9-12);

  (E) A typed essay with a maximum of 1,500 words describing the student's: 1. Post-high school educational plans; 2.Statement on career ambitions; 3. Two or three of the following topics: a) Statement of knowledge of Navajo culture and Navajo people in general; b) Navajo traditions, language, and folklore; or, c) explanation of an interesting event in Navajo history.

  (ii) At least one letter of recommendation from either a high school official, community member, or elected official.

  (iii) A resume.

  (c) The Selection Committee will interview the student and ask the student to:

  (i) Express his/her opinion, in Navajo, on the importance of maintaining the Navajo culture;

  (ii) Express what a post-secondary education means to the student;

  (iii) Express how the student may help the Navajo community after completing his/her college education;

  (iv) Discuss the student's goals and how does he/she plan to reach them;

  (v) Describe student's character qualities, including honesty, trustworthy, hard-working, respectful, humble and teachable, determined, self-confident, responsible, etc.

  (3) Application Deadlines

  (a) Announcements and information regarding the program will be made available during the first month of the start of the school year and again during the first week of January.

  (b) The Application deadline is the FIRST Friday in March.

  (c) The Selection Committee will conduct interviews by the THIRD Wednesday of March.

  (4) Award

  (a) Each Selection Committee member will review and assess the Application and the student's responses to the interview questions, and record weighted scores on the "Selection Committee OSAP Scoring Sheet". The individual committee scores will then be added up, totaled, and averaged on one "OSAP SELECTED CANDIDATE Form".

  (b) The Selection Committee will forward an "OSAP SELECTED CANDIDATE Form" to UNTF staff for presentation to the Dine' Advisory Committee at its regularly scheduled April meeting.

  (c) The Dine' Advisory Committee will make its recommendation to the Board of Trustees at its April regularly scheduled meeting.

  (d) All awards, certificates, and the initial check will be prepared by the THIRD Friday of April.

  (5) Award recipients shall be tracked by UNTF Staff to determine whether the recipients of the awards enroll in a post-secondary program.