Mekoryuk student Jayne Hanna got a big surprise at her high school graduation last week: two state scholarships totaling $14,000. KYUK caught up with the young scholar just before Hanna headed out with her family for their first summer fishing trip.
In a class of four, Jayne Hanna truly got the surprise of her life last week at the Mekoryuk high school graduation ceremony.
“I was shocked because I was sitting up there, and graduation is already a big important event, and all of a sudden I’m getting this scholarship too, so it was a shock,” said Hanna.
Only twenty-five students in Alaska are chosen for the BP Alaska Principal’s Scholarship, which Hanna received, but she was also awarded the BP Alaska Commissioner’s Scholarship, which on its own is worth $10,000.
It’s an honor she wasn’t expecting. Her father was the only one in the family who knew about it.
“My mom was shocked too, because my dad kept it secret from her too. She was sitting up there across from us and the look on her face was probably almost as surprised as mine. So it was pretty cool,” said Hanna.
These are the second and third prominent scholarships that Hanna has been awarded this year. Earlier this month, Hanna received the National ACT Student Readiness Exemplar award, an honor only given out to one high school student annually in the entire country. So far this year, Hanna has received a total of $19,000 in scholarships.
“My mom always tells us [speaks in Cup’ik], which means "always keep going". We’re not done. We need to keep going and get our training after high school, whether that’s college or training, and hopefully come back to the village to return to our communities,” said Hanna.
We're sure we speak for many when we say congratulations to Jayne Hanna.