Our Students

The Bristol Bay Foundation is honored to have provided over $13,271,000 in scholarships to over 5,000 students.

By investing in our youth, we invest in our future.

This spring, we received the highest number of scholarship applications in foundation history for a single academic year. We were able to fund 232 awards. Desire for education continues to grow, and our goal is to help all BBNC shareholders and descendants who seek a post-secondary credential or degree to succeed. Your support uplifts this mission.

Meet our students.

See your impact.

Meet Kay.

BBF scholarship recipient, graduate, and actress.

This winter, Kay visited Alaska for the first time to learn more about her family’s history, her culture, and her roots.

Originally from Cincinnati Ohio, Kay recently graduated with her degree in Theatre with a specialization in Acting and Directing. During her time in school, Kay was a pat of a show where she was asked to research her character, Tiger Lily, and connect her role on stage to her own family history. Kay took on an independent research project to learn more about her Alaska Native culture and family in Bristol Bay which eventually led her to Alaska.

“The Bristol Bay Foundation helped me get a start to this project when I visited by giving just a little insight into how important my grandmother’s story is and guiding me to places to visit in Alaska to learn more.”

Learn about Kay’s project in her own words:

My research project was about my grandmother’s story. She was adopted from Haines Alaska and lived in Maryland before reuniting with her family much later in her life. I decided to research more into adoptions of Native American children in history. This curiosity started from a young age when I noticed I looked different from a lot of kids in my class. Many of the adults and children around me often asked if I was adopted, and that led to the question to my mom “Where am I from?”

Living in Ohio, researching Alaskan Native culture is extremely difficult. I was able to talk over the phone with my aunt (who lives in Egegik) and hear a few stories from my grandmother, but I still always had a sense of fear of getting it wrong. I almost didn’t pursue the project with fear, but pursuing the project brought me fulfillment for myself and future research ideas.

The inspiration.

I learned that I have a lot more family than I thought I did. I met so many people who knew me, but I didn’t know them. I feel as if this project opened so many new connections for me and my immediate family. For the longest time we were never able to go back to Alaska, but now I feel we have more urgency to go back and learn more from them. Although some of the stories they shared with us were a bit sad, I came out of this experience with the urgency to share my family’s stories even more.

I learned exactly where my family comes from. For my whole life we weren’t exactly sure what part of Alaska my grandmother was born in. Visiting Alaska, we were able to pinpoint where she was born, where she was adopted from, and where her mother was born. We also were able to enjoy some delicious food that my aunt made.

Overall, I learned there is much more to my identity than I thought there was growing up and I was able to learn just a little bit from my short trip.

The lessons.

Visiting Alaska was an amazing journey. I felt I filled a missing piece of myself by seeing family for the first time, and hearing stories from those at the Alaskan Native Heritage Center. Although I went in the winter, and as a midwestern it was freezing, the experience I had was much more fulfilling than I could’ve imagined. I went for research and got the information I needed for my project but got to do so much more.

Bristol Bay has always been helpful by giving us connections, keeping us in the loop and even supporting me through college.

The impact.

Pictured (left to right/ top to bottom): Kay’s grandmother, Nana Miller, Kay, and Kay’s mother, Michelle Nicht; delicious plate of food shared by Kay’s aunt; Kay and Michelle at the Alaska Native Heritage Center during her trip to Alaska.

Quyana to Kay for sharing her story with us. Since graduating, Kay landed a role in a show called Tecumseh which tells the story of the tribes in Ohio. She is excited to see what kind of opportunities are next and she hopes to continue her research and take it to the next level with the support of her advisor and her family.

Meet D’Alan.

This Fairbanks resident grew up in Anchorage with roots in Togiak. He is now a student at the barbering school, Beyond the Mirror.

His passion for cutting hair ignited when he was in boarding school. He started cutting his own hair when he found it difficult to get a haircut. The more he taught himself, the more he enjoyed the process and soon started cutting others hair. Positive feedback and encouragement pushed him to start thinking about a career as a barber. His dorm mentor and manager Ox gifted him his first set of barber tools.

D'Alan has a twofold plan for his future. He wants to open salons and barbershops across the state. His hope is to create opportunities for other Alaska Native people to enter the barbering business, while also using social media platforms to spread positivity, advice, and awareness of his craft.

One of his favorite memories is cutting the hair of 23 crew members in a span of four days while he was working 16-hour days on a pollock trawler. D’Alan says he also prioritizes giving back to his community. A few times each year he offers free haircuts to those in need.

“I believe creating relationships with people through haircuts is very important—whether being a role model to younger kids, bringing confidence to my community or becoming a friend to those around me.”

We have no doubt D’Alan will always be a cut above and create positive change a long his journey.

Torrie McCormick has a heart for helping others. She knew since she was a child that she wanted to live out loud the true meaning of the common phrase, it takes a village!

Growing up in Chignik Lake she understood the value and importance of community. Following in family members footsteps, she had her sights set on being in the medical field and supporting the health of those in her village.

Torrie enrolled as a full-time student at Alaska Career College in Anchorage. She graduated last year with her Certified Medical Assistant credentials. Now she works at Alaska Native Primary Care Center. She says her favorite part of the job is getting to know the patients she serves.

Her journey to living out her dream was full of hard work and one she describes as a positive growing experience. Her advice to other students?

“Even when it seems too hard, keep going, it’ll be worth it in the end!”

Congratulations Torrie on seeing your dreams become reality.

Meet Torrie.

Justin has always had his sights set high. As a child, he built model RC airplanes and when he was old enough to work, he started sweeping floors for a local maintenance hangar. He eventually earned his private pilot’s license which allowed him to move to Bristol Bay full-time, build his family’s home, and be closer to family.

In 2024, Justin applied for the CFVE scholarship program to support his commercial pilot training and take his flying to the next level. Through Blue River Aviation, Justin earned his license and now serves as a critical connection between communities in rural Alaska and regional hubs.

Your sponsorship supports families like Justin’s and services in and out of our Bristol Bay communities.

Since 2021, the Bristol Bay Foundation has awarded 27 scholarships to BBNC shareholders and descendants with aviation industry goals, including 4 awards in 2025. A total of $252,800 in awards from the Foundation helped train commercial pilots, airplane & engine mechanics, helicopter pilots, and aviation-industry professionals.